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ESSAYS 


LONDON  :    PRINTED    P.V 

SPOTTISWOODE      AND      CO.,      NEW-STREET      SQUARE 

AND   PARLIAMENT    STREET 


ESSAYS 


CRITICAL    AND     NARRATIVE 


BY 


WILLIAM    FORSYTH,    O.C,  LL.D.,  M.P. 

M  I 
AUTHOR     OF     'the     LIFE    OF     CICERO  ' 

'cases    and    opinions    on    constitutional    law'    etc. 

sometime   fellow  of   trinity  college, 
cambridge 


LONDON 
LONGMANS,     GREEN,     AND     CO. 

1874 


All    rick  Is     reserved 


1874 


PREFACE. 


I  HAVE  COLLECTED  in  this  volumc  some  of  the  Articles 
which  at  various  times  I  have  contributed  to  different 
periodicals.  It  is,  perhaps,  pardonable  in  an  author 
to  wish  to  rescue  a  few  of  his  anonymous  productions 
from  the  wave  of  oblivion  which  so  soon  passes  over 
ephemeral  literature.  I  have  added  one  or  two 
Lectures,  which  I  have  delivered  at  several  places. 
Whether  the  Essays  which  I  have  here  reprinted 
deserve  the  attempt  to  secure  for  them  a  more  per- 
manent record  must  be  determined  by  the  judgment 
of  the  public,  from  whose  decision  there  is  no  appeal. 

W.   F. 


779904 


CONTENTS. 


PACK 

Speeches  of  Lord  Brougham  ,  .  .  .         i 

Criminal  Procedure  in  Scotland  and  England         ,  24 

The  Kingdom  of  Italy         .  .  .  .  .61 

The  Judges  of  England  .  .  .  .  .110 

Literary  Style  ,  .  .  .  .  .162 

Progress  of  Legal  Reform        ....  204 

An  Election  in  France  .  .  .  .  .221 

A  Journey  to  Ashango  Land        ....  247 

Eugenie  de  Gu^rin     ......     273 

Tunnel  through  the  Alps  ....  293 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  :  its  History  .  .  .     316 

Visit  to  Russia  and  the  Great  Fair  of  Nijni  Novogorod     346 
Visit  to  Portland  Prison  ....  385 

Three  Days  in  Sark  ......     396 

William  Cobbett  ......  409 

Historical  Evidence  .  .  .  .  .     43^ 


ESSAYS 

CRITICAL   AND    NARRATIVE. 


THE  SPEECHES  OF  LORD  BROUGHAM, 

'  Edinburgh  Review,'  April,  1858. 

Many  are  the  claims  of  Lord  Brougham  upon  the  respect 
and  gratitude  of  his  countrymen  ;  and  many  are  the  titles  by 
which  he  will  be  known  to  posterity.  As  a  philanthropist 
his  name  is  imperishably  associated  with  those  of  Clarkson 
and  Wilberforce  in  their  efforts  for  the  suppression  of  the 
Slave  Trade,  and  he  has  given  the  chief  impulse  to  the  great 
cause  of  the  Education  of  the  people.  As  a  statesman,  he  has 
taken  a  leading  part  in  counselling  and  carrying  some  of  the 
most  important  political  measures  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
As  an  advocate  whose  zeal  for  his  client  scorned  consideration 
of  personal  advancement,  he  will  be  known,  if  for  nothing 
else,  yet  for  his  immortal  defence  of  Queen  Caroline.  As  a 
lawyer,  his  name  is  inscribed  in  the  list  of  Lord  High  Chan- 
cellors of  England,— and  he  bounded  to  that  lofty  dignity 
from  the  ranks  of  the  Bar,  without  having  previously  filled 
one  of  the  subordinate  law  offices  of  the  Crown.  As  a  legis- 
lator, the  country  owes  to  his  perseverance  some  of  the  most 
important  improvements  in  her  civil  laws,  and  we  allude  more 
especially  to  the  radical  changes  that  have  been  effected  in 
the  law  of  Evidence.  He  is  not  only  a  great  speaker,  but  an 
able  writer;  not  only   a   politician,    who  has  fought  like  a 

^  speeches  on  Social  and  Political  Sub-      2  vols.    i2mo.     Loudon  and  Glasgow  : 
jects,  Tfith  Historical  Introductions.      By      1857. 
Henry    Lord    Brougham,    F.  R.S. 

B 


2  £SSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

gladiator  for  fifty  years  in  the  arena  of  party  strife,  but  a  man 
of  letters,  and  a  mathematician  of  no  mean  attainments.  We 
remember  when  it  was  the  fashion  for  those  who  cannot  con- 
ceive the  possibility  of  excellence  in  more  than  one  depart- 
ment of  knowledge,  to  sneer  at  Lord  Brougham  as  '  no 
lawyer.'  But  this  is  best  answered  by  the  fact,  that  in  hardly 
a  single  instance  were  his  judgments  in  the  Court  of  Chancery 
reversed  on  appeal  by  the  House  of  Lords  ;  and  we  will  ven- 
ture to  say,  that  although  there  have  been  lawyers  like 
Buller,  and  Holroyd,  and  Bayley,  and  Littledale,  more  versed 
in  the  technicalities  of  their  craft  and  the  mysteries  of  special 
pleading — an  abomination  now  well-nigh  swept  away — few 
have  been  more  profoundly  imbued  with  the  principles  of  the 
Common  Law. 

Rare,  indeed,  have  been  the  examples  of  an  intellect  so 
vigorous  and  active.  His  energy  throughout  life  has  been 
astounding  ;  and  even  now,  at  a  period  which  in  other  men 
would  be  called  old  age,  it  shows  little  sign  of  diminution  or 
decay.  Mentally,  his  eye  is  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  strength 
abated  ;  for  he  still  prosecutes  the  cause  of  Law  Reform  with 
an  ardour  which  might  put  to  shame  the  efforts  of  younger 
men  ;  and  year  after  year  he  presses  upon  the  Legislature 
measures  of  which  the  object  is  to  simplify  the  machinery, 
and  lessen  to  the  suitor  the  cost  of  our  courts  of  justice. 

We  do  not  intend  to  go  over  the  wide  field  which  a  life  so 
spent  presents  ;  but  we  propose  in  the  present  article  to  con- 
fine our  attention  to  Lord  Brougham  as  an  Orator.  It  is  by 
his  speeches  that  his  influence  was  most  felt  in  the  generation 
now  fading  from  amongst  us,  and  by  them,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  his  colossal  reputation  has  been  built.  Although 
there  is,  unhappily,  something  evanescent  in  those  great  efforts 
of  the  human  tongue  which  have  so  often  roused  and  ruled 
the  passions  and  the  intellect  of  the  senate  and  the  nation, 
their  results  belong  to  history,  and  Lord  l^rougham  will  leave 
no  monument  behind  him  more  worthy  to  be  held  in  lasting 
remembrance  than  these  Orations.  For  he  has  laboured  to 
become  a  master  in  his  art,  and  we  sec  in  the  arrangement  of 
his  topics,  the  structure  of  his  periods,  and  the  choice  of  his 
language,  the  skill,  and  in  its  proper  sense,  the  artifice,  of  the 
consummate  rhetorician. 


THE  SPEECHES  OE  LORD  BROUGHAM.  3 

Upon  the  subject  of  Oratory  a  lamentable  misapprehension 
seems  to  prevail,  and  we  are  not  sorry  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  saying  a  few  words  about  it.  No  one  can  deny  that  elo- 
quence at  the  Bar  and  in  Parliament  is  just  now  at  a  low  ebb. 
It  is  often  positively  painful  to  enter  a  court  of  justice  and 
hear  the  addresses  to  which  juries  are  condemned  to  listen, 
from  men  who  occupy  the  place  where  once  stood  an  Erskine 
and  a  Brougham.  No  doubt  there  have  been  of  late  years 
brilliant  exceptions,  but  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the 
general  character  of  forensic  oratory  at  the  present  day  is  far 
below  what  might  be  expected  from  the  education,  the  oppor- 
tunities, and  the  intellectual  vigour  of  the  age. 

Nor  is  the  state  of  things   much  better  in  the  House  of 
Commons.     We  do  not,  of  course,  expect  that  a  country  gen- 
tleman should  be  a  good  speaker  because  he  has  carried  the 
county  ;  nor  that  merchants  or  railway  directors  should  study 
Demosthenes  in  their  counting-houses,   and    come  forth   as 
orators  as  soon  as  they  have  been  returned  for  a  borough ; 
but  how  few  of  the  practised  debaters  of  the  House  ever  rise 
to  anything  which  approaches  to  the  name  of  oratory,  how  few 
are  able  to  realise  the  idea  of  one  whom  Cicero  describes :  qui 
jure  lion  solum  disertus  sed  etiam  cloqucns  did possit !     It  has 
indeed  been  the  custom  of  late  to  decry  oratorical  powers,  as 
tending  rather  to  dazzle  and  mislead  than  instruct  and  edify  ; 
and  to  praise  the  dull  dry  harangue   of  the  plodding  man  of 
business,  who  crams  down  the  throat  of  his  audience  a  heap 
of  statistical  facts,  and  then  wonders  to  find  them  gaping  or 
asleep,  rather  than  the  brilliant  speech  of  the  accomplished 
orator,  who  enlivens  his  subject   with   the  sallies  of  wit,  and 
adorns  it  with  the  graces  of  imagery.     But  this  kind  of  lan- 
guage proceeds  more  from  mortified  incapacity  than  approving 
judgment.     Hobbes  defined  a  republic  to  be  an  aristocracy  of 
orators,  interrupted  at  times  by  the  monarchy  of  a  single 
orator  ;  and  in   a   country  like   this,  where  the  very  highest 
rewards  and  the  proudest  position  are  the  prizes  open  to  suc- 
cessful eloquence,  it  may  well  be  matter  of  wonder  that  the 
number  of  competitors  is  so  small  in  the  race  where  '  that  im- 
mortal garland  is  to  be  won,  not  without  dust  and  heat.' 

And  what  is  the  reason  of  this  }     It  arises,  we  believe, 
chiefly  from  the  fact  that  men  will  not  believe  that  Oratory  is 


4  £SSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

an  art,  and  that  excellence  in  this,  as  in  every  other  art,  can 
only  be  attained   by  labour  and  by  the  study  of  the  best 
models.     To  such  an  extent  is  this  heresy  carried,  that  it  is 
actually  considered  a  disparagement — a  thing  almost  to  be 
ashamed  of — to  be  suspected  of  preparing  a  speech  before- 
hand ;  and  it  is  thought  a  recommendation  of  himself  by  an 
honourable  member  when,  on  rising  to  address  the  House,  he 
declares  that  on  entering  it  he  had  not  the  slightest  intention 
of  doing  so.     As  if  a  man   ever  will   or  can  speak  well  who 
takes  no  pains  to  make  himself  a  proficient  in  the  art,  and 
who  fancies  that,  like  Dogberry's  reading  and  writing,  oratory 
comes  by  nature !     The  speaker  must  learn  his  craft  as  much 
as  a  painter  or  sculptor,  or  musician  ;  although,  like  them  also, 
he  must  have  from  nature  some  special  aptitude  for  his  voca- 
tion.    If  common  sense  did  not  tell  us  this,  the  great  examples 
of  antiquity  would   prove  it.     Every  schoolboy  knows   the 
enormous  pains  that  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  took  to  qualify 
themselves  for  the  task  of  addressing  their  fellow-citizens  ;  and 
that  some  of  the  most  celebrated  orations  that  have  come 
down  to  us  from  Athens  and  Rome  were  written  for  delivery, 
but  actually  never  spoken  at  all.     Very  different  from   the 
common  practice  has  been,  if  we  mistake  not,  Lord  Brougham's 
conception  of  the  work  of  the  future  orator.    He  has  furnished 
abundant  evidence  of  his  familiarity  with  the  classic  models. 
He  has  shown  his  veneration  for  Demosthenes  by  translating 
the  Chersonese  Oration  and  the  great  Oration  on  the  Crown  ; 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  he  is  said  to  have  committed 
to  writing  beforehand  the   finest  parts  of  his  own  speeches. 
If  this  be  true,  we  honour  him   the   more  for  the  homage  he 
has  paid  to   the  eternal   rule,   that  without  such  '  improbus 
labor,'  excellence  in  any  art  is  denied  to  man.     And  he  has 
had  his  reward.     He  stands  confessedly  in  the  front  rank  of 
English  orators,  and  he  won  his  spurs   at  a  time  when  the 
conflict  was  with  giants. 

At  the  present  moment  it  will  hardly  be  contested  that  the 
standard  of  oratory  is  far  higher  in  the  House  of  Lords  than 
in  the  other  House  of  Parliament ;  and  if  any  one  were  asked 
to  point  out  the  best  speakers  in  that  august  body  he  would 
name  without  hesitation,  Lord  Brougham,  Lord  Lyndhurst, 
the  Earl  of  Derby,  and  the  Earl  of  Ellenborough.     We  hope 


7 HE  SPEECHES  OE  LORD  BROUGHAM.  5 

that  before  long  Lord  Macaulay  will  be  added  to  the  list,  but 
he  has  not  yet  made  a  display  of  his  great  oratorical  powers 
in  the  assembly  to  which  he  has  been  elevated,  and  which  by 
his  presence  he  adorns.  Of  Lord  Lyndhurst's  power  as  a 
debater  it  is  impossible  to  speak  too  highly.  But  although  at 
times,  and  in  some  passages,  his  speeches  may  be  called  elo- 
quent, they  want  the  rushing  force— the  declamatory  vehe- 
mence— which  is  an  essential  element  of  oratory.  Admirable 
in  logic,  comprehensive  in  statement,  and  faultless  in  diction, 
Lord  Lyndhurst  commands  the  attention  of  all  who  listen  to 
him.  But  he  appeals  more  to  the  reason  than  the  feelings  or 
the  passions  of  his  audience,  and  seeks  to  convince  rather 
than  to  persuade.  His  discourse  flows  on  like  the  waters  of 
some  calm  majestic  river  unruffled  by  the  wind  ;  but  we  hear 
nothinpf  of  the  dash  of  the  torrent  or  the  roar  of  the  cataract ; 
— there  are  no  startling  apostrophes,  nor  soul-stirring  appeals, 
which,  in  the  proud  consciousness  of  his  argumentative  power, 
he  seems  almost  to  disdain.  Certainly  this  cannot  be  said  of 
Lord  Derby,  who,  with  a  command  of  language  as  perfect  as 
Lord  Lyndhurst's,  has  a  fire  and  a  brilliancy  peculiarly  his 
own. 

But  great  as  these  men  are  in  debate,  none  of  them  can 
be  said  to  rank  as  orators  with  Lord  Brougham.  If  we  were 
obliged  to  characterise  his  oratory  by  a  single  word,  it  would 
be  Energy — the  ^siv6rr]9  of  the  Greeks.  Cicero  tells  us  that 
often  when  he  rose  to  speak  he  trembled  in  eveiy  limb.  We 
doubt  whether  this  ever  happened  to  Lord  Brougham.  But 
the  Roman  orator  had  by  nature  a  weak  and  nervous  consti- 
tution, and  this  may  account  for  the  timidity  of  a  character 
which,  although  on  a  memorable  occasion  he  could  thunder 
forth — Coniciupsi  Cati lines  gladios,  11011  pertimcscani  tnos — 
caused  him,  in  the  strife  of  contending  factions,  painfully  to 
oscillate  between  his  regard  for  Pompey  and  his  fear  of  Caesar. 
With  an  athletic  frame  Lord  Brougham  possesses  a  mental 
organisation  singularly  robust ;  and  his  style  of  speaking  is 
cast  in  a  corresponding  mould.  It  is  the  furthest  possible  re- 
moved from  the  exercitatio  domestica  et  umhratilis,  and  is  rather 
that  which  rushes  medium  in  agmen,  in  pulvcrem,  in  clamor  cm, 
in  castra,  atque  in  aciem  forcnscm.  The  following  passage 
breathes  not  only  the  force  of  the  orator,  but  the  character  of 


6  l!:SSAyS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  man.     It  is  from  his  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords  in  1838, 
on  the  emancipation  of  Negro  apprentices  : — 

I  have  read  with  astonishment,  and  I  repel  with  scorn,  the  insinuation  that 
I  had  acted  the  part  of  an  advocate,  and  that  some  of  my  statements  were  coloured 
to  serve  a  cause.  How  dares  any  man  so  to  accuse  me  ?  How  dares  any  one, 
skulking  under  a  fictitious  name,  to  launch  his  slanderous  imputations  from  his 
covert  ?  I  come  forward  in  my  own  person.  I  make  the  charge  in  the  face  of 
day.  I  drag  the  criminnl  to  trial.  I  openly  call  down  justice  on  his  head.  I 
defy  his  attacks.  I  defy  his  defenders.  I  challenge  investigation.  How  dares 
any  concealed  adversary  to  charge  me  as  an  advocate  speaking  from  a  brief,  and 
misrepresenting  the  facts  to  serve  a  purpose?  But  the  absurdity  of  this  charge 
even  outstrips  its  malice. 

Lord  Brougham's  voice  is  not  musical ;  at  times,  in  its 
higher  tones,  it  is  harsh  and  hoarse,  and  sounds  Hke  the  scream 
of  the  northern  eagle  swooping  down  upon  its  prey  ;  but  he 
possesses  the  art  of  modulating  it  with  admirable  effect,  and 
his  elocution  is  not  less  cultivated  than  his  diction.  His  power 
over  the  English  language  is  wonderful.  It  was  said  of  him 
on  one  occasion  that  he  made  it  bend  under  him.  We  do 
not  assert  that  the  word  chosen  is  not  sometimes  too  strong. 
We  will  not  affirm  that  he  does  not  sometimes  sin  against  a 
fastidious  taste.  We  cannot  deny  that  in  ransacking  his 
memory  for  epithets  and  synonyms — or  perhaps  we  should 
say  polyonyms — he  brings  up  some  that  are  too  vehement, 
and  that  in  his  descriptions  of  persons  and  measures  there  is 
too  much  tendency  to  exaggerate.  But  his  vocabulary  is  in- 
exhaustible, and  his  faults  are  those  of  amplitude  of  power. 
He  runs  riot  in  the  exuberance  of  strength.  His  periods  are 
often  declamatory,  but  there  are  no  platitudes  ;  and  without 
declamation,  in  its  proper  sense,  there  is  no  oratory.  It  would 
be  easy  to  point  out  in  Demosthenes — still  easier  in  Cicero — - 
passages  which,  to  the  colder  feelings  of  our  western  clime, 
seem  overstrained  and  hyperbolical.  But  the  criterion  is  this  : 
How  did  they  act  upon  the  crowds  that  listened  .''  Did  they, 
or  did  they  not,  stir  up  from  its  innermost  depths  the  soul  of 
the  auditory  .''  For  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  great 
end  of  oratory  is  to  persuade,  and  by  carrying  captive  the 
passions,  to  attack  through  them  the  citadel  of  reason.  It 
will  be  found,  on  a  careful  study  of  Lord  Brougham's  speeches, 
that  the  declamation  almost  always  assists  the  argument ; 
it  advances,  so  to  speak,  the  action  of  the  drama,  and  never, 
as  is  the  case  when  it  becomes  mere  tinsel  or  bombast  in  the 


'    THE  SPEECHES  OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.  7 

hands  of  inferior  men,  impedes  and  encumbers  it.  He  is  fond 
of  iterating  an  idea,  and  clothing  it  in  every  imaginable  form 
of  words—  piling  Ossa  on  Pelion — and  making  each  sentence 
rise  in  the  scale  of  impressiveness.  Some  of  his  periods  may 
be  too  long,  and  there  is  a  danger  lest  the  attention  of  the 
hearer — or  perhaps  we  ought  now  to  say  the  reader — should 
flag  while  pausing  for  the  climax  of  the  sentence  ;  but  there  is 
no  false  grammar— no  anacoluthon — no  confusion  of  metaphor, 
and  out  of  the  longest  sentence  or  succession  of  sentences,  he 
winds  himself  with  unerring  accuracy. 

He  himself  said  in  one  of  his  speeches — that  on  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  in  Ireland  in  1839,  when  defending 
himself  from  the  charge  of  violence  and  undue  severity  made 
against  him  by  Lord  Melbourne — 'No  man  is  a  judge  of  the 
exact  force  and  weight  of  his  own  expressions.'  Probably 
Lord  Brougham  has  at  times  been  hardly  conscious  of  the 
force  of  the  projectile  he  has  launched  from  his  lips  in  the 
ardour  of  debate.  He  reminds  us  of  Polyphemus  hurling 
rocks  as  if  he  were  a  boy  flinging  pebbles.  Thus,  speaking 
in  1823  of  the  Notes  of  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  with 
reference  to  the  state  of  Spain  in  1822-3,  he  said: — 

I  will  venture  to  say  that  to  produce  anything  more  preposterous,  more  ab- 
surd, more  extravagant,  better  calculated  to  excite  a  mingled  feeling  of  disgust 
and  derision,  would  baffle  any  chancery  or  state-paper  office  in  Europe. 

And  again — 

Monstrous  and  insolent  and  utterly  unbearable  as  all  of  them  are,  I  consider 
that  of  Russia  to  be  more  monstrous,  more  insolent,  and  more  prodigiously  beyond 
endurance  than  the  rest. 

So  also,  speaking  of  the  conduct  of  the  Whigs  on  the  Bed- 
chamber question  in  1839 — 

This  is  the  novel,  the  uncouth,  the  portentous,  the  monstrous  description  of 
our  free  and  popular  constitution,  which  the  Whig  Government  of  1839  has  given 
to  the  Reformed  Parliament  of  England. 

That  careful  preparation  of  an  elaborate  speech  does  not 
unfit  an  orator  for  unpremeditated  and  effective  reply,  has  been 
shown  by  Lord  Brougham  in  some  of  his  finest  displays.  We 
will  mention  one  remarkable  example.  It  is  the  speech  de- 
livered by  him  on  the  instant  without  a  moment's  notice,  in 
answer  to  the  charges  brought  by  the  late  Sir  Robert  (then 
Mr.)  Peel,  in  18 19,  against  the  Education  Committee,  of  which 


8  £SSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Mr.  Brougham  had  been  chairman.  It  is  a  masterly  efYbrt, 
full  of  the  keenest  scarcasm  and  most  cutting  point — and  from 
a  note  at  the  end  we  learn  that  its  preservation  is  owing  to 
the  accident  of  a  barrister  who  took  an  interest  in  the  subject, 
happening  to  be  in  the  gallery  of  the  House  of  Commons  ; 
for  '  the  newspapers,  for  some  days  before  this  debate  took 
place,  had  refrained  from  reporting  Mr.  Brougham's  speeches 
in  consequence,  as  it  is  said,  of  some  offence  given  by  him  to 
a  reporter  in  the  form  of  words  used  in  referring  to  him.'  The 
following  passage  from  this  reply  is  a  good  illustration  of  the 
speaker's  peculiar  style — heaping  sentence  upon  sentence,  and 
stretching  his  topic  until  the  tension  becomes  almost  too  great 
to  be  borne  : — 

Rut  if  I  do  not  now  satisfy  all  who  hear  me  that  the  Committee  were  right,  that 
this  House  was  right,  and  the  Right  Honourable  Gentleman  wrong — if  I  do  not 
succeed  in  proving  to  the  heart's  content  of  every  one  man  of  common  candour 
and  ordinary  understanding,  that  the  Right  Honourable  Gentleman  is  utterly 
wrong  in  all  his  charges — wrong  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  labcured 
oration — if  I  do  not  in  a  few  minutes  and  by  referring  to  a  few  plain  matters  strip 
that  performance  of  all  claim  to  credit — if  I  do  not  show  him  to  be  mistaken  in 
his  facts,  out  in  his  dates,  at  fault  in  his  law,  ignorant  of  all  parliamentary  pre- 
cedent and  practice,  grossly  uninformed,  perhaps  misinformed,  upon  the  whole 
question  which  in  an  evil  hour  he  has  undertaken  to  handle,  with  no  better  help 
than  the  practical  knowledge  and  discretion  of  those  who  have  urged  him  on  to 
the  assault,  while  they  showed  only  a  vicarious  prodigality  of  their  own  persons 
— then  I  will  consent  to  suffer — what  shall  I  say  ? — to  endure  whatever  punish- 
ment the  Right  Honourable  Gentleman  may  think  fit  to  inflict  upon  me  and  my 
colleagues — even  the  weight  of  his  censure — which  will  assuredly  in  his  estimation 
be  fully  equal  to  our  demerits,  how  great  soever  they  may  be.  But  I  venture  to 
hope  that  the  House,  mercifully  regarding  my  situation  while  such  a  judgment  is 
suspending,  will  allov/  me,  ere  the  awful  decree  goes  forth,  to  avert,  if  it  be 
possible,  from  our  devoted  heads  a  fate  so  overwhelming. 

Sarcastic  irony,  of  which  only  a  light  touch  appears  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  above  extract,  is  a  favourite  weapon  of 
Lord  Brougham.  Sometimes  he  has  indulged  in  it  even  to 
the  verge  of  indiscretion  ;  as,  for  instance,  in  the  following 
passage,  from  his  speech  in  defence  of  Ouecn  Caroline,  ad- 
dressed, be  it  remembered,  to  the  House  of  Lords,  who  were 
sitting  in  judgment  upon  her  fate.  But  he  doubtless  knew 
how  far  he  might  venture  to  go  in  upbraiding  while  he  affected 
to  praise. 

This  was  when  he  was  examined  on  the  Tuesday.  On  the  Friday,  with  the 
interval  of  two  days, — and  your  Lordships,  for  reasons  best  known  to  yourselves, 
but  which  must  have  been  boltomed  on  justice  guided  by  wisdom, — wisdom  never 


THE  SPEECHES  OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.  9 

more  seen  or  better  evinced  than  in  varying  the  course  of  conduct  and  adapting 
to  new  circumstances  the  actions  we  perfonn — wisdom  which  will  not,  if  it  be 
perfect  in  its  kind  and  absohite  in  its  degree,  ever  sustain  any  loss  by  the  devia- 
tion—for this  reason  alone,  in  order  that  injustice  might  not  be  done  (for  what  in 
one  case  may  be  injurious  to  a  defendant,  may  be  expected  mainly  to  assist  a 
defendant  in  another,) — your  Lordships,  not  with  a  view  to  injure  the  Queen — 
your  I,ordships,  with  a  view  to  farther  not  to  frustrate  the  ends  of  justice— allowed 
the  evidence  to  be  printed,  which  afforded  to  the  witnesses,  if  they  wished  it, 
means  of  mending  and  improving  upon  their  testimony. 

Andthis  reminds  us  of  another  passage  in  the  same  speech, 
where,  flinging  irony  aside,  he  with  unparalleled  boldness 
charged  the  Peers  of  England,  before  whom  he  stood  as  the 
advocate  of  the  Queen,  with  having  themselves,  by  their  own 
conduct,  forced  her  to  associate  abroad  with  persons  beneath 
her,  and  thus  incur  the  degradation  of  which  she  was  then 
accused. 

'  But  who,'  he  asked,  'are  they  that  bring  this  charge,  and  above  all  before 
whom  do  they  urge  it  ?  Others  may  accuse  her— others  may  blame  her  for  going 
abroad— others  may  tell  tales  of  the  consequences  of  living  among  Italians,  and 
of  not  associating  with  the  women  of  her  country  or  of  her  adopted  country  ;  but 
it  is  not  your  Lordships  that  have  any  right  to  say  so.  It  is  not  you,  my  Lords, 
tliat  can  fling  this  stone  at  Her  Majesty.  You  are  the  last  persons  in  the  worlds 
you  who  now  presume  to  judge  her,  are  the  last  persons  in  the  world  so  to  charge 
her ;  for  you  are  the  witnesses  whom  she  must  call  to  vindicate  her  from  that 
charge.  You  are  the  last  persons  who  can  so  charge  her  ;  for  you  being  her  wit- 
nesses, have  been  the  instigators  of  that  only  admitted  crime.  While  she  was 
here  she  courteously  opened  the  doors  of  her  palace  to  the  families  of  your  Lord- 
ships.     She  graciously  condescended  to  mix  herself  in  the  habits  of  most  familiar 

life  with   those  virtuous  and    distingiiished   persons But  when  changes 

took  place  —when  other  views  opened — when  that  power  was  to  be  retained  which 
she  had  been  made  the  instrument  of  grasping— when  the  lust  of  power  and  place 
was  to  be  continued  its  gratification,  to  the  first  gratification  of  which  she  had  been 
made  the  victim, — then  her  doors  were  opened  in  vain  ;  then  that  society  of  the 
Peeresses   of  England  was   withholden  from   her  ;  then   she  was  reduced  to  the 

alternative,    humiliating  indeed either   to   acknowledge  that  you  had 

deserted  her or  to  leave  the  country  and  have  recourse  to  other  society 

inferior  to  yours. ' 

Our  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  attempt  an  analysis  of  this 
celebrated  speech,  and  indeed,  it  is  too  well  known  to  need 
that  we  should  do  so.  All  who  have  read  it  must  have 
stamped  upon  their  memories  the  way  in  which  Mr.  Brougham 
shattered  the  evidence  in  support  of  the  bill,  and  the  irresist- 
able  force  with  which  he  insisted  upon  its  rejection,  not  only 
on  account  of  the  worthlessness  of  the  witnesses  who  were 
called,  but  the  absence  of  the  witnesses  who  were  not.  In 
anticipation  of  the  taunt  which  might  be  expected  from  those 


10  jESSAvs  critical  and  narrative. 

who  would  say  that  he  might  call  the  latter  himself,  he  burst 
forth  :— 

And  if  you  do  not  call  them — in  the  name  of  justice,  what?  Say  ! — Say  ! 
— For  shame,  in  this  temple — this  highest  temple  of  justice,  to  have  her  most 
sacred  rights  so  profaned,  that  I  am  to  be  condemned  in  the  plenitude  of  proof, 
if  guilt  is  ;  that  I  am  to  be  condemned,  unless  I  run  counter  to  the  presumption 
which  bears  sway  in  all  Courts  of  Justice,  that  I  am  innocent  until  I  am  proved 
guilty  ;  and  that  my  case  is  to  be  considered  as  utterly  ruined,  unless  I  call  my 
adversary's  witnesses  !  Oh  most  monstrous  !  most  incredible  !  My  Lords  !  my 
Lords  !  if  you  mean  ever  to  show  the  face  of  those  symbols  by  which  Justice  is 
known  to  your  country,  without  making  them  stand  an  eternal  condemnation  of 
yourselves,  I  call  upon  you  instantly  to  dismiss  this  case,  and  for  this  single 
reason  ;  and  I  -will  say  not  another  word  upon  this  subject. 

It  was  in  the  same  speech  that  he  uttered  his  well-known 
description  of  the  duties  of  an  advocate. 

I  once  before  took  occasion  to  remind  your  Lordships — which  was  unnecessary, 
but  there  are  many  whom  it  may  be  necessary  to  remind — that  an  advocate,  by  the 
sacred  duty  which  he  owes  to  his  client,  knows  in  the  discharging  that  office  but 
one  person  in  the  world,  THAT  CLIENT  AND  NONE  OTHER.  To  save  that  client 
by  all  expedient  means — to  protect  that  client  at  all  hazards  and  costs  to  all 
others,  and  among  others  to  himself — is  the  highest  and  most  unquestioned  of  his 
duties  ;  and  he  must  not  regard  the  alarm — the  suffering — the  torment — the 
destruction — which  he  may  bring  upon  another.  Nay,  separating  even  the  duties 
of  a  patriot  from  those  of  an  advocate,  and  casting  them,  if  need  be,  to  the  wind, 
he  must  prove  reckless  of  the  consequences,  if  his  fate  should  unhappily  be  to 
involve  his  country  in  confusion  for  his  client's  protection  ! 

This,  if  considered  as  propounding  an  article  in  the  code 
of  forensic  ethics,  is  an  exaggerated  and  erroneous  view, 
against  which  the  right  reason  of  every  one  instinctively 
revolts  ;  but  the  speaker  meant  it  to  apply  to  and  foreshadow 
the  necessity  to  which  he  might  be  driven  of  recriminating 
upon  the  King,  and  impugning  his  title  to  the  throne  in  con- 
sequence of  his  marriage  with  Mrs.  Fitzhcrbert.  Although 
Mr.  Brougham  did  not  go  so  far  as  this,  yet  he  went  far  enough 
in  vindicating  his  claim  to  know  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty 
to  his  client  '  but  one  person  in  the  world,  that  client  and  no 
other,'  when  he  called  the  King  '  the  ringleader  of  the  band 
of  perjured  witnesses;'  and  in  quoting  an  affectionate  letter 
from  George  III.  to  his  daughter-in-law,  said,  that  he  could 
not  read  it  '  without  a  feeling  of  sorrow,  when  we  reflect  upon 
the  reign  that  has  passed,  and  compare  it  with  the  rule  we 
live  under.' 

It  is  needless  to  express  any  opinion  upon  the  merits  of 
the  case,   or  to  revive  a  controversy,   in  every  aspect  most 


THE  SPE  EC  TIES  OE  L  ORD  BR  0  UGHAM.  1 1 

unhappy,  which  has  died  away.  We  are  deahng  with  the 
Queen's  trial  merely  as  it  afforded  a  great  occasion  for  a  great 
advocate ;  and  no  one  can  deny  the  matchless  skill  with 
which  the  defence  was  conducted,  and  the  power  with  which 
the  testimony  of  Majocchi,  the  ^  non  mi  ricordo'  Majocchi  — 
of  Demont,  'the  Machiavel  of  waiting  maids' — of  Cucchi, 
with  '  that  unmatched  phsiognomy,  those  gloating  eyes,  that 
sniffing  nose,  that  lecherous  mouth ' — of  Sacchi,  and  of  Kress, 
and  indeed  of  all  the  witnesses  for  the  bill,  was  sifted,  anato- 
mised, and  destroyed.  We  will  quote  the  peroration  of  the 
speech,  and  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  calling  attention  to  the 
rising  climax  at  the  beginning, 

vSuch,  my  Lords,  is  the  case  now  before  you  !  Such  is  the  evidence  in  support 
of  this  measure — evidence  inadequate  to  prove  a  debt — impotent  to  deprive  of  a 
civil  right— ridiculous  to  convict  of  the  lowest  offence — scandalous  if  brought 
forward  to  support  a  charge  of  the  highest  nature  which  the  law  knows — monstrous 
to  ruin  the  honour,  to  blast  the  name,  of  an  English  Queen  !  What  shall  I  say, 
then,  if  this  is  the  proof  by  which  an  act  of  legislation,  a  parliamentary  sentence, 
an  ex  post  facto  law,  is  sought  to  be  passed  against  this  defenceless  woman?  My 
Lords,  I  pray  you  to  pause.  I  do  earnestly  beseech  you  to  take  heed  !  You  are 
standing  upon  the  brink  of  a  precipice — then  beware  !  It  will  go  forth  your 
judgment,  if  sentence  shall  go  against  the  Queen.  But  it  will  be  the  only 
judgment  you  ever  pronounced,  which,  instead  of  reaching  its  object,  will  return 
and  bound  back  upon  those  who  give  it.  Save  the  country,  my  Lords,  from  the 
horrors  of  this  catastrophe— save  yourselves  from  this  peril— rescue  that  country 
of  which  you  are  the  ornaments,  but  in  which  you  can  flourish  no  longer,  when 
severed  from  the  people,  than  the  blossom  when  cut  off  from  the  roots  and  stem 
of  the  tree.  Save  that  country  that  you  may  continue  to  adorn  it — save  the  Crown 
which  is  in  jeopardy — the  Aristocracy  which  is  shaken — save  the  Altar  which 
must  stagger  with  the  blow  that  rends  its  kindred  Throne !  You  have  said,  my 
Lords,  you  have  willed — the  Church  and  the  King  have  willed — that  the  Queen 
should  be  deprived  of  its  solemn  service.  She  has,  instead  of  that  solemnity,  the 
heartfelt  prayers  of  the  people.  She  wants  no  prayers  of  mine.  But  I  do  here 
pour  forth  my  humble  supplications  at  the  Throne  of  Mercy,  that  that  mercy  may 
be  poured  dowm  upon  the  people,  in  a  larger  measure  than  the  merits  of  their 
rulers  may  deserve,  and  that  your  hearts  may  be  turned  to  justice. 

In  connexion  with  the  Queen's  trial  another  opportunity 
was  afforded  to  Mr.  Brougham  for  a  great  oratorical  display. 
When  she  died  in  August,  182 1,  the  bells  of  most  of  the 
churches  throughout  England  were  tolled, — but  those  of  Dur- 
ham remained  silent.  Neither  church  nor  cathedral  there  paid 
this  tribute  of  respect  to  her  memory ;  and  a  Mr.  Williams, 
the  editor  of  a  local  newspaper  at  Durham,  commented  with 
some  severity  upon  the  omission.  What  he  wrote  would 
now-a-days  pass  unheeded  and  disregarded,  but  those  were 


J 2  JESSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

times  of  ex-officlo  informations;  and  the  late  Lord  Abinger, 
then  Mr.  Scarlett,  the  Attorney-General  of  the  County  Pala- 
tine, obtained  a  rule,  which  was  afterwards  made  absolute 
for  a  criminal  information  against  John  Williams,  the  pub- 
lisher of  the  paragraph,  for  a  libel  against  '  the  clergy  residing 
in  and  near  the  city  of  Durham.'  We  more  than  doubt 
whether  such  a  body — having  no  corporate  character  or  capa- 
city— could,  in  point  of  law,  be  the  possible  subjects  of  a  libel, 
so  as  to  enable  them  to  be  the  relators  in  a  criminal  informa- 
tion. But  the  rule  was  granted,  and  Williams  was  defended 
before  a  Durham  jury  by  Mr,  Brougham. 

In  the  alleged  libel  occurred  the  following  passage  : — 
'  Yet  these  men  profess  to  be  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  to 
walk  in  his  footsteps,  to  teach  his  precepts,  to  inculcate  his 
spirit,  to  promote  harmony,  charity,  and  Christian  love !  Out 
upon  such  hypocrisy  ! ' — and  Mr.  Scarlett,  who  conducted  the 
prosecution,  had  suggested  in  his  opening  address  to  the  jury 
that  the  reason  why  the  bells  of  Durham  were  silent  was 
because  the  clergy  there  too  deeply  sympathised  with  the 
Queen's  fate  to  give  open  expression  to  their  sorrow.  This 
was  indeed  to  expose  an  unguarded  flank  to  the  enemy  and 
invite  a  terrible  attack,  and  thus  did  Mr.  Brougham  avail 
himself  of  the  opportunity. 

The  venerable  the  clergy  of  Durham,  I  am  told  now  for  the  first  tune  .... 
did  nevertheless,  in  reality,  all  the  while,  deeply  sympathise  with  her  suffering  in 
the  bottom  of  their  reverend  hearts  !  When  all  the  resources  of  the  most  ingenious 
cruelty  hurried  her  to  a  fate  without  parallel— if  not  so  clamorous  as  others,  they 
did  not  feel  the  least  of  all  the  members  of  the  community— their  grief  was  in 
truth  too  deep  for  utterance— sorrow  clung  round  their  bosoms,  weighed  upon 
their  tongues,  stifled  every  sound— and  when  all  the  rest  of  mankind,  of  all  sects 
and  of  all  nations,  freely  gave  vent  to  the  feelings  of  our  common  nature,  their 
silence,  the  contrast  which  THEY  displayed  to  the  rest  of  their  species,  proceeded 
from  the  greater  depth  of  their  affliction  ;  they  said  the  less  because  they  felt  the 
more  !— Oh  !  talk  of  hypocrisy  after  this  !  most  consummate  of  all  the  hypocrites? 
After  instructing  your  chosen  official  advocate  to  stand  forward  with  such  a 
defence— such  an  exposition  of  your  motives— to  dare  to  utter  the  word  hypocrisy, 
and  complain  of  those  who  charged  you  with  it  !  This  is  indeed  to  insult  common 
sense,  and  outrage  the  feelings  of  the  whole  human  race  !  If  you  were  hypocrites 
before,  you  were  downright  frank  honest  hypocrites  to  what  you  have  made  your- 
selves—and surely  for  ail  you  have  ever  done  or  ever  been  charged  with,  your 
worst  enemies  must  be  satiated  with  the  humiliation  of  this  day,  its  just  atonement 
and  ample  retribution  ! 

In  the  same  speech  occurs  a  passage  which  we   must  cite 
as  perfect   in   its   kind.      Mr.    Scarlett    had   lamented   in   his 


THE  SPEECHES  OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.  13 

opening  that  the  clergy  had  not  the  power  of  defending  them- 
selves through  the  public  press.  Mr.  Brougham  declared 
that  they  had  largely  used  it  and  '  scurrilously  and  foully 
libelled  '  the  defendant.     He  then  thus  proceeded  : — 

Not  that  they  wound  deeply  or  injure  much  ;  but  that  is  no  fault  of  theirs : 
without  hurting  they  give  trouble  and  discomfort.  The  insect  brought  into  life  by 
corruption,  and  nestletl  in  filth,  though  its  flight  be  lowly  and  its  sting  puny,  can 
swarm  and  buzz  and  iwitate  the  skin  and  offend  the  nostril,  and  altogether  give  us 
nearly  as  much  annoyance  as  the  wasp,  whose  nobler  nature  it  aspires  to  emulate. 
These  reverend  slanderers — these  pious  backbiters — devoid  of  force  to  wield  the 
sword,  snatch  the  dagger ;  and  destitute  of  wit  to  point  or  to  barb  it,  and  make  it 
rankle  in  the  womid,  steep  it  in  venom  to  make  it  fester  in  the  scratch. 

Nor  was  this  the  last  occasion  on  which  Lord  Brougham 
defended  the  memory  of  the  Queen.  No  one  can  doubt 
the  sincerity  of  his  conviction  of  her  innocence,  and  he  has 
seized  every  opportunity  of  proclaiming  it  to  the  world.  In 
a  debate  in  1823,  on  the  question  of  the  Administration  of 
the  Law  in  Ireland,  brought  forward  by  himself,  Mr.  Peel  had 
censured  his  reference  to  a  letter  which  has  been  addressed 
by  the  Irish  Attorney-General,  Mr.  Saurin,  to  Lord  Norbury, 
then  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  Ireland,  and  in 
which  the  writer  had  suggested  that  Lord  Norbury  should 
make  use  of  his  position  as  a  judge  on  circuit  to  influence  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact  against  Catholic  emancipation. 
This  letter  was  a  private  one,  which  had  got  into  print  by 
some  improper  means,  contrary  to  the  wish  and  intention  of 
Mr.  Saurin,  and  had  been  the  subject  of  much  public  remark. 
On  hearing  the  attack,  Mr.  Brougham  turned  to  Mr.  Denman 
and  Mr.  Williams,  who  with  Dr.  Lushington  had  been  his 
colleagues  on  the  Queen's  trial,  and,  quoting  Cromwell's 
words  at  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  said,  '  The  Lord  hath  de- 
livered them  into  our  hands.'  When  he  rose  to  reply  he 
thus  dealt  with  the  accusation,  and  thus  retorted  upon  his 
adversary : — 

And  why,  let  me  ask,  am  I  to  be  blamed  for  simply  referring  to  an  extensively 
published  letter,  as  if  I  had  first  given  it  publicity?  ....  I  entirely  agree  with 
the  Right  Honourable  Gentleman,  in  his  condemnation  of  those  who  have  been 
concerned  in  obtaining  the  letter  for  the  purpose  of  publishing  it.  Their  conduct 
may  not  be  criminal  by  the  enactments  of  the  law,  but  it  is  morally  dishonest,  and 
it  is  revolting  to  every  honourable  feeling.  I  go  heartily  along  with  him  in 
reprobating  all  such  odious  practices  ;  I  hold  with  him  that  it  is  shameful,  indecent, 
abominable  to  encourage  them  ;  I  consider  it  truly  detestable  to  hold  out  the 
encouragement  of  bribes  for  the  purpose  of  corrupting  servants,  and  inducing  them 


14  ESSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  violate  their  first  duty,  and  betray  the  secrets  of  their  master— aye,  and  of  their 
mistress  too  ! — I  say  of  their  mistress  ! — of  their  mistress  ! — and  not  only  to  betray 
her  secrets  and  to  steal  her  papers,  and  to  purloin  her  letters,  but  to  produce 
them  for  the  treacherous,  the  foul,  the  execrable  purpose  of  supporting  a  charge 
against  her  honour  and  her  life,  founded  on  the  documents  that  have  been  pilfered 
by  her  servants  and  sold  to  her  enemies  !  the  proofs  obtained  by  perfidy  suborned, 
and  larceny  perpetrated  !  and  then  to  carry  on  a  prosecution  wholly  grounded  on 
matter  drawn  from  sources  so  polluted,  as  at  once  insulted,  disgraced,  and 
degraded  the  nation — a  prosecution  so  foul,  so  utterly  abominable,  making  the 
sun  shroud  himself  in  darkness,  as  if  unwilling  to  lend  the  light  of  day  to  the  per- 
petration of  such  enormous  wickedness  ! '  And  by  whom  was  this  infamy  enacted  ? 
By  the  Ministers  of  the  Crown — by  the  very  colleagues  of  the  Right  Honourable 
Gentleman  who  now  pronounces  so  solemn  a  denunciation  of  all  that  tends 
to  encourage  servants  in  betraying  the  confidence  of  their  masters  and  their 
mistresses  ! 

Lord  Brougham  is  sparing  in  the  use  of  metaphor,  and 
hardly  ever  resorts  to  a  simile.  But  when  he  does  employ- 
metaphor  it  is  always  apt  and  effective.  We  may  give  as  a 
specimen  his  description  of  the  benefits  conferred  by  the 
Reform  Bill,  which  occurs  in  a  speech  delivered  by  him  in 
1839,  on  what  was  called  the  Bedchamber  Question,  so  fatal 
to  Sir  Robert  Peel's  attempt  to  form  an  Administration  in 
the  month  of  May  in  that  year. 

It  is  my  clear  and  deliberate  conviction  (and  if  I  had  not  so  believed  I  never 
would  have  consented  to  the  change  in  1831  and  1832,  much  less  promoted  it) — 
that  if  the  altered  Constitution  is  fit  for  the  calm,  it  is  yet  better  suited  to  the 
tempest  ;  if  the  vessel  can  ride  the  more  safely  in  smooth  water,  since  the  repairs 
she  then  underwent,  they  were  still  more  necessary  for  enabling  her  to  bear  the 
storm.  Her  being  made  more  tight  in  her  rigging,  better  trimmed,  better 
manned,  and  by  a  more  contented  crew,  sounder  in  her  timbers,  more  secure  and 
more  seaworthy  in  all  her  fabric,  far  from  rendering  her  less  fit  safely  to  ride 
through  the  troubled  waters,  must  make  her  more  powerful  to  defy  the  strife  of 
the  elements  ....  The  vessel  has  undergone  a  thorough  repair  ;  not  unnecessary 
for  her  security  in  the  fairest  weather,  but  in  the  stress  of  wind  and  wave 
absolutely  required  to  give  her  a  chance  of  safeiy. 

And,  although  it  is  not  included  in  the  collection  we  are 
reviewing,  we  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  quoting  an  ex- 
tract from  his  noble  speech  on  the  State  of  the  Law,  where  a 
fine  metaphor  is  beautifully  sustained. 

The  great  stream  of  Time  is  perpetually  flowing  on  ;  all  things  around  us  are 
in  ceaseless  motion  ;  and  we  vainly  imagine  to  preserve  our  relative  position 
among  them  by  getting  out  of  the  current  and  standmg  stock-still  on  the  margin. 
The  stately  vessel  we  belong  to  glides  down  ;  our  bark  is  attached  to  it  ;  we 
might  '  pursue  the  triumph  and  partake  the  gale  ; '  but  worse  than  the  fool  who 

'  An  eclipse  of  the  sun  happened  to  of  the  case  for  the  Bill  of  Pains  and 
take  place  at  the  time  of  the  opening      Penalties  against  the  Queen. 


THE  SPEECHES  OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.  15 

stares  expecting  the  current  to  flow  down  and  run  out,  we  exclaim,  '  Stop  the 
boat  ! '  and  would  tear  it  away  to  strand  it  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  its  con- 
nexion with  the  vessel. 

It  is,  however,  in  the  power  of  description  that  Lord 
Brougham  peculiarly  excels.  No  one  can  paint  with  more 
force  a  picture  in  words.  Witness  that  tremendous  passage 
with  which  he  appalled  the  House  of  Lords  when,  in  his 
speech  on  the  Slave  Trade  in  1838,  he  described  the  horrors 
of  the  Middle  Passage  and  spoke  of  the  shark  that  follows 
in  the  wake  of  the  slaveship  ;  '  and  her  course  is  literally  to 
be  tracked  through  the  ocean  by  the  blood  of  the  murdered, 
with  which  her  enormous  crime  stains  its  waters.'  Our  space 
will  not  allow  us  to  do  more  than  give  a  fragment  of  the 
picture  in  which  are  drawn  scenes — 

Scenes  not  exceeded  in  horror  by  the  forms  with  which  the  great  Tuscan  poet 
peopled  the  Hell  of  his  fancy,  nor  by  the  dismal  tints  of  his  illustrious  country- 
man's pencil  breathing  its  horrors  over  the  vaults  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  !  Mortua 
quin  etiam  juagebat  corpora  vivis  !  On  the  deck  and  in  the  loathsome  hold  are  to 
be  seen  the  living  chained  to  the  dead — the  putrid  carcase  remaining  to  mock 
the  survivor  with  a  spectacle  that  to  him  presents  no  terrors — to  mock  him  with 
the  spectacle  of  a  release  that  he  envies  !  Nay,  women  have  been  known  to 
bring  forth  the  miserable  fruit  of  the  womb,  surrounded  by  the  dying  and  the 
dead — the  decayed  corpses  of  their  fellow  victims. 

After  this,  his  affecting  account  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
people  in  his  speech  against  the  Orders  in  Council  in  1812 
seems  almost  tame.  And  yet  his  tale  of  starving  penury  and 
silent  woe  in  the  manufacturing  districts  was  told  with  infinite 
skill — we  fear  with  not  more  skill  than  truth — and  touched 
the  hearts  of  all  who  heard  it.  Speaking  of  Birmingham  he 
asked  : — 

In  what  state  do  you  find  that  once  busy  hive  of  irfen  ?  Silent,  still,  and 
desolate  during  half  the  week  ;  during  the  rest  of  it,  miserably  toiling  at  reduced 
wages,  for  a  pittance  scarcely  sufficient  to  maintain  animal  life  in  the  lowest  state 
of  comfort,  and  at  all  times  swarming  with  unhappy  persons,  willing,  anxious  to 
work  for  their  lives,  but  unable  to  find  employment.  He  must  have  a  stout  heart 
within  him,  who  can  view  such  a  scene,  and  not   shudder.     But  even  this  is  not 

all A  third  would  say  that  he  was  afraid  to  see  his  people,  because  he 

had  no  longer  the  means  of  giving  them  work,  and  he  knew  that  they  would 
flock  around  him  and  implore  to  be  employed  at  the  lowest  wages  :  for  something 
wholly  insufficient  to  feed  them.  'Indeed,'  said  one,  'our  situation  is  greatly 
to  be  pitied  ;  it  is  most  distressing  ;  and  God  only  knows  what  will  become  of  us, 
for  it  is  most  unhappy  ! ' 

He  possesses  also  an  unrivalled  fertility  in  strong  and  ap- 
posite illustration.    This  is  one  of  the  most  effective  ornaments 


1 6  £SSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

of  a  speech,  vividly  condensing  the  argument  and  bringing  it 
home  at  once  to  the  apprehension.  We  will  give  one  or  two 
examples.  Alluding  to  the  pressure  of  misery  caused  by  the 
Orders  in  Council,  and  the  wild  ideas  that  were  afloat  of  the 
relief  that  was  likely  to  flow  from  the  proposed  abolition  of  the 
East  India  Company's  trading  monopoly — when  one  district, 
which  raised  no  earthly  produce  but  black  horned  cattle,  had 
petitioned  for  a  free  exportation  to  the  East  Indies — and  the 
ancient  and  respectable  city  of  Newcastle,  which  grows  nothing 
but  pit  coal,  had  earnestly  entreated  that  it  might  be  allowed 
to  ship  that  useful  article  to  supply  the  stoves  and  hot-houses 
of  Calcutta,  he  said  : — 

They  remind  one  of  the  accounts  which  have  been  handed  down  to  us  of 
the  great  pestilence  which  once  visited  this  city.  Nothing  in  the  story  of  that 
awful  time  is  more  affecting  than  the  picture  which  it  presents  of  the  vain 
efforts  made  to  seek  relief.  Miserable  men  might  be  seen  rushing  forth  into  the 
streets  and  wildly  grasping  the  first  passenger  they  met,  to  implore  his  help,  as  if 
by  communicating  the  poison  to  others  they  could  restore  health  to  their  own 
veins,  or  life  to  its  victims  whom  they  had  left  stretched  before  it.  In  that  dismal 
period  there  was  no  end  of  projects  and  nostrums  for  preventing  or  curing  the 
disease  ;  the  numberless  empirics  every  day  started  up  with  some  new  delusion, 
rapidly  made  fortunes  of  the  hopes  and  terrors  of  the  multitude,  and  then  as 
speedily  disappeared,  or  were  themselves  borne  down  by  the  general  destroyer. 
Meanwhile  the  malady  raged  until  its  force  was  spent ;  the  attempts  to  cure  it 
were  doubtless  all  baffled  ;  but  the  eagerness  with  which  men  hailed  each  suc- 
cessive contrivance,  proved  too  plainly  how  vast  was  their  terror  and  how  uni- 
versal the  suffering  that  prevailed. 

And  again,  in  the  same  speech,  in  answer  to  the  question, 
what  had  the  Orders  in  Council  to  do  with  the  scarcity  arising 
from  a  deficient  crop  i* — 

Why,  Sir,  to  deny  that  those  measures  affect  the  scarcity,  is  as  absurd  as  it 
would  be  to  deny  that  our  Jesuits'  Bark  Bill  exasperated  the  misery  of  the  French 
hospitals,  for  that  the  wretches  there  died  of  the  ague  and  not  of  the  bill.  True, 
they  died  of  the  ague  ;  but  your  murderous  policy  withheld  from  them  that 
kindly  herb  which  the  Providence  that  mysteriously  inflicted  the  disease,  merci- 
fully bestowed  for  the  relief  of  suffering  humanity. 

Throughout  these  orations  occur  from  time  to  time  mag- 
nificent bursts  of  the  finest  eloquence,  and  our  only  difficulty 
is  to  make  a  selection.  We  might  quote  from  his  speech  in 
1812,  at  the  Liverpool  Election,  his  invective  against  the  policy 
of  Mr.  Pitt.  '  Immortal  in  the  triumphs  of  our  enemies  and 
the  ruin  of  our  allies,  the  costly  purchase  of  so  much  blood 
and  treasure  !  Immortal  in  the  afflictions  of  England  and  the 
humiliation  of  her  friends,  through  the  whole  results  of  his 


THE   SPEECHES  OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.         17 

twenty  years'  reign,  from  the  first  rays  of  favour  with  which  a 
delighted  Court  gilded  his  early  apostacy,  to  the  deadly  glare 
which  is  at  this  instant  cast  upon  his  name  by  the  burning 
metropolis  of  our  last  ally  ! ' '  We  might  also  quote  from  his 
speech  on  the  Army  Estimates  in  18 16 — a  speech  which  we 
are  told  by  himself  had  a  greater  success  than  any  other  made 
by  him  in  Parliament — his  comparison  of  France  in  1/92, 
when  '  a  prodigious  revolution  had  unchained  twenty-six  mil- 
lions of  men  in  the  heart  of  Europe,'  with  France  at  the  time 
he  spoke,  after  '  Jacobinism,  itself  arrested  by  the  Directory, 
punished  by  the  Consuls,  reclaimed  by  the  Emperor,  has 
become  attached  to  the  cause  of  good  order,  and  made  to 
serve  it  with  the  zeal,  the  resources  and  the  address  of  a 
malefactor  engaged  by  the  police  after  the  time  of  his  sentence 
had  expired.'  Or  the  peroration  of  his  speech  in  1823,  on 
abuses  in  the  Administration  of  the  Law  in  Ireland,  which 
Mr.  Wilberforce  in  his  '  Diary'  (see  his  *  Life,'  vol.  v.  p.  186) 
called  '  quite  thundering — magnificent,  but  very  unjust  decla- 
mation.' With  the  justice  or  injustice  of  the  attack  we  are 
not  now  concerned,  but  it  is  melancholy  to  think  that  such  a 
theme  should  have  afforded  materials  for  a  long  oration  in 
the  House  of  Commons  little  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  and 
that  it  should  have  been  possible  to  say  there,  as  Mr.  Brougham 
did  say,  '  In  England,  justice  is  delayed,  but,  thank  Heaven, 
it  can  never  be  sold.  In  Ireland  it  is  sold  to  the  rich,  refused 
to  the  poor,  delayed  to  all.     It  is  in  vain  to  disguise  the  fact ; 

it   is  in  vain   to   shun   the  disclosure   of  the   truth 

We  are  driving  six  millions  of  people  to  despair,  to  mad- 
ness  ' 

But  at  the  risk  of  choosing  a  passage  which  some  may 
think  eclipsed  by  others  more  rhetorical  and  brilliant,  we  will 
give  an  extract  from  the  close  of  his  speech  in  the  House  of 
Commons  in  1830  on  Negro  Slavery,  which  we  think  remark- 
ably fine : — 

Tell  me  not  of  rights — talk  not  of  the  property  of  the  planter  in  his  slaves. 
I  deny  the  right — I  acknowledge  not  the  property.  The  principles,  the  feelings 
of  our  common  nature,  rise  in  rebellion  against  it.  Be  the  appeal  made  to  the 
understanding  or  to  the  heart,  the  sentence  is  the  same  that  rejects  it.     In  vain 


'  The  news  of  the  burning  of  Moscow  had  arrived  in  Liverpool  by  that  day's 
post. 

C 


1 8  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

you  tell  me  of  laws  that  sanction  such  a  claim  1  There  is  a  law  above  all  the 
enactments  of  human  codes— the  same  throughout  the  world,  the  same  in  all 
times — such  as  it  was  before  the  daring  genius  of  Columbus  pierced  the  night  of 
ages,  and  opened  to  one  world  the  sources  of  power,  wealth,  and  knowledge  ;  to 
another,  all  unutterable  woes.  Such  it  is  at  this  day.  It  is  the  law  written  in 
the  heart  of  man  by  the  finger  of  his  Maker  ;  and  by  that  law,  unchangeable 
and  eternal,  while  men  despise  fraud,  and  loathe  rapine,  and  abhor  blood,  they 
will  reject  the  wild  and  guilty  phantasy  that  man  can  hold  property  in  man  I '  In 
vain  you  appeal  to  treaties,  to  covenants  between  nations  :  the  covenants  of  the 
■Almighty,  whether  of  the  old  Covenant  or  the  new,  denounce  such  unholy  pre- 
tensions. 

With  this  it  is  worth  while  to  compare  his  grand  and  im- 
passioned burst  of  indignant  eloquence,  when  denouncing  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  in  1838,  the  cruelties  practised  in  our 
West  India  Colonies,  and  calling  upon  the  House  to  assent  to 
the  immediate  emancipation  of  the  Negro  apprentices.  Eleven 
female  slaves  had  been  severely  flogged,  and  then  forced  by- 
torture  to  work  on  the  treadmill,  *  till  their  sufferings  had 
reached  the  pitch  when  life  can  no  longer  even  glimmer  in 
the  socket  of  the  weary  frame.'     They  died — and 

'  Ask  you,'  said  the  great  champion  of  the  cause  of  African  freedom,  *  ask  you, 
if  crimes  like  these,  murderous  in  their  legal  nature,  as  well  as  frightful  in  their 
aspect,  passed  unnoticed  ;  if  inquiry  was  neglected  to  be  made  respecting  these 
deaths  in  a  prison?  No  such  thing  !  The  forms  of  justice  were,  on  this  head, 
peremptory  even  in  the  West  Indies  ;  and  those  forms,  the  handmaids  of  Justice, 
were  present,  though  their  sacred  mistress  was  far  away.  The  coroner  duly  at- 
tended ;  his  jury  were  regularly  impannelled  ;  eleven  inquisitions  were  made  in 
order,  and  eleven  verdicts  returned.  Murder  !  manslaughter  !  misdemeanour  ! 
misconduct !  No — but  "  Died  by  the  Visitation  of  God  !  "  Died  by  the  Visita- 
tion of  God  !  A  lie  !  a  perjury  !  a  blasphemy  !  The  Visitation  of  God  !  Yes, 
for  it  is  amongst  the  most  awful  of  those  visitations  by  which  the  inscrutable  pur- 
poses of  His  will  are  mysteriously  accomplished,  that  He  sometimes  arms  the 
wicked  with  power  to  oppress  the  guiltless  ;  and  if  there  be  any  visitation  more 
dreadful  than  another — any  which  more  tries  the  faith  and  vexes  the  reason  of 
erring  mortals,  it  is  when  Heaven  showers  down  upon  earth  the  plague — not  of 
scorpions,  or  pestilence,  or  famine,  or  war — but  of  unjust  judges  and  perjured 
jurors  ;  wretches  who  pervert  the  law  to  wreak  their  personal  vengeance,  or  com- 
pass their  sordid  ends,  forswearing  themselves  upon  the  gospels  of  God,  to  the 
end  tliat  injustice  may  prevail  and  the  innocent  be  destroyed  ! ' 

Lord  Brougham  is  also  a  great  master  of  the  art  of  ridi- 

'  Some  years  ago,  when  a  case,  at  was  lawful ;  upon  which  Lord  Denman 
which  the  author  was  present,  was  ar-  said,  '  I  don't  know  that  ;  I  should 
gued  before  Lord  Denman  and  several  like  to  hear  that  point  argued.'  How- 
other  judges  in  Serjeants'  Inn,  involv-  ever,  it  was  soon  shown  that  what  the 
ing  incidentally  the  right  of  a  Spanish  laws  of  the  principal  nations  of  Europe 
or  Portuguese  vessel  to  carry  slaves,  the  had  sanctioned,  could  not  be  contrary 
counsel  who  argued  that  a  certain  cap-  to  the  Law  of  Nations  ;  and  indeed  so 
ture  was  unlawful,  was  assuming  that.  Lord  Stowellhad  decided  in  the  case  of 
by  the  Law  of  Nations,  slave-trading  the  French  vessel  Le  Louis  in  181 7. 


THE  SPEECHES   OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.  19 

cule,  which  becomes  in  his  hands  a  formidable  weapon.  He 
is  obviously  fond  of  it,  and  uses  it  often  with  marked  effect. 
But  we  are  bound  to  say  that  it  is  never  ill-natured  ;  there  is 
no  venom  in  the  point.  The  wound  may  pain  for  the  mo- 
ment, but  it  never  festers.  And  there  is  often  an  hilarity  in 
the  satirical  attack  which  might  make  even  the  victim  himself 
join  in  the  laughter  of  which  he  is  the  object.  When  the 
Berlin  and  Milan  decrees  of  Napoleon  had  sealed  the  Conti- 
nent against  the  imports  of  British  commerce,  and  we  had 
tried  to  retaliate  by  the  Orders  in  Council,  which  had  the 
effect  of  stopping  our  American  trade,  and  involving  us  in  a 
quarrel  with  the  United  States,  the  Ministers  advanced  the 
argument  that  a  substitute  for  our  former  market  was  found 
in  our  increasing  trade  with  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
colonists  of  South  America.  In  point  of  fact,  our  North 
American  trade  had  amounted  to  thirteen  millions  sterling  a 
year — while  the  South  American  trade  was  only  one  million. 
By  way  of  illustrating  the  importance  and  magnitude  of  the 
commerce  we  had  lost,  Mr.  Brougham  drew  an  amusing 
picture  of  the  raptures  of  joy  into  which  Ministers  would  be 
thrown  if  they  could  command  such  a  market  anywhere  on 
the  Continent. 

Why,  Sir,  only  conceive  an  event  which  should  give  an  opening  in  the  north 
of  Europe  or  the  Mediterranean  for  but  a  small  part  of  this  vast  bulk — some  change 
or  accident,  by  which  a  thirteenth,  aye,  or  a  thirtieth,  of  the  enormous  value  of 
British  goods  could  be  thrown  into  the  enemy's  countries  !  It  what  transports  of 
delight  would  the  new  President  [of  the  Board  of  Trade,  Mr.  Rose]  be  flung  !  I 
verily  believe  he  would  make  but  one  step  from  his  mansion  to  his  office — all 
Downing  Street,  and  all  Duke's  Place  would  be  in  an  uproar  of  joy.  Bless  me, 
what  a  scene  of  activity  and  business  should  we  see  !  what  Cabinets — what 
Boards  ! — What  amazing  conferences  of  Lords  of  Trade  ! — What  adrivingtogether 
of  Ministers  ! — What  a  rustling  of  small  clerks  ! — What  a  mighty  rushing  of 
brokers  !— Circulars  to  the  manufacturing  towns — harangues  upon  'Change,  per- 
formed by  eminent  naval  characters  — triumphal  processions  of  dollars  and  volun- 
teers in  St.  James'  Square  ! — Hourly  deputations  from  the  merchants — courteous 
and  pleasing  answers  from  the  Board — a  speedy  importation  into  Whitehall,  to  a 
large  amount,  of  worthy  knights  representing  the  City — a  quick  return  cargo  of 
licenses  and  hints  for  cargoes— the  whole  craft  and  mystery  of  that  license  trade 
revived,  with  its  appropriate  perjuries  and  frauds — -new  life  given  to  the  drooping 
firms  of  dealers  in  forgery  whom  I  formerly  exposed  to  you — answered  by  corre- 
sponding activity  in  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  its  clerks — slips  of  the  pen  worth 
fifteen    thousand    pourds  ' — judicious    mistakes — well     considered     oversights — 

'  Mr.  Baring  (afterwards  Lord  Ash-  time,  licenses  were  rendered  so  valuable, 
burton)  had  stated  in  the  House  of  that  he  would  have  given  that  sum  fnr 
Commons,  that  by  two  mistakes  at  one      them. 

C  2 


20  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

elaborate  inadvertencies. — Why,  so  happily  constituted  is  the  Right  Honourable 
gentleman's  understanding,  that  his  very  blunders  are  more  precious  than  the 
accuracies  of  other  men  ;  and  it  is  no  metaphor,  but  a  literal  mercantile  proposi- 
tion, to  say,  that  it  is  better  worth  our  while  to  err  with  him  than  to  think  rightly 
with  the  rest  of  mankind  ! 

In  a  review  of  Lord  Brougham's  speeches,  it  would  be 
unpardonable  to  omit  mention  of  his  great  oration  on  Parlia- 
mentary Reform— one  of  the  most  elaborate  of  all  his  efforts. 
But  it  is  too  well  known  to  require  more  than  a  brief  notice. 
Nothing  but  the  highly-wrought  state  of  public  feeling  could 
justify  the  scene  at  the  close,  when  sinking  on  the  ground 
beside  the  woolsack,  the  Lord  Chancellor  exclaimed,  '  By  all 
you  hold  most  dear — by  all  the  ties  that  bind  every  one  of  us 
to  our  common  order  and  our  common  country,  I  solemnly 
adjure  you — I  warn  you — I  implore  you — yea,  on  my  bended 
knees  I  supplicate  you — reject  not  this  bill'  This  is  too  thea- 
trical for  good  taste.  It  reminds  us  of  the  exaggerated  manner 
of  the  Pere  Lacordaire  in  the  PVench  pulpit,  or  of  some  of  the 
extravagant  scenes  which  have  occurred  in  the  French  revo- 
lutionary assemblies.  But  the  genius  of  French  oratory  is 
essentially  different  from  our  own.  Let  us,  however,  not  be 
understood  to  depreciate  the  eloquence  of  our  neighbours, 
either  in  the  pulpit  or  the  tribune  or  at  the  bar.  The  country 
which  has  produced  a  Bossuet  and  a  Massillon — a  D'Agues- 
seau,  a  Berryer,  and  a  Guizot,  may  well  contend  with  others 
for  the  palm  of  excellence  in  speech  ;  and  it  is  one  of  the 
most  melancholy  results  of  the  suppression  of  liberty  in 
France,  that  her  orators  are  dumb,  and  that  the  force  of  a 
military  despotism,  or  the  restrictions  of  a  jealous  police,  have 
crushed  into  silence  the  tribune  which  has  been  the  scene 
of  so  many  triumphs  of  eloquence  and  freedom.  Qi(ousqne 
tandem  ?  ' 

The  speech  on  Parliamentary  Reform  has  several  fine  pas- 
sages, but  it  is  not,  throughout,  so  eloquent  as  many  others 
delivered  by  Lord  Brougham.  It  is  more  in  the  nature  of  an 
exhaustive  reply  to  the  arguments  that  had  been  advanced  in 
opposition  to  the  bill  by  Lords  Dudley,  Winchelsea,  Wharn- 
clilfe,  Ihirrowby,  and  Caernarvon,  and  these  were  met  and 
parried  and  retorted  with  admirable  skill.  The  Earl  of  Caer- 
narvon, in   answer  to   the  question.  What   Reform  had  the 

'   It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  was  written  in  1858. 


THE   SPEECHES   OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.  21 

Opposition  to  offer  if  the  proposed  measure  was  rejected  ? 
had  compared  the  Ministry  to  some  host,  who,  having  set 
before  his  guests  an  uneatable  dinner  with  which  they  found 
fault,  should  ask  them,  'What  dishes  can  you  dress  your 
selves  ?' — and  thus  Lord  Brougham  took  up  the  illustration: — 

My  noble  friend  says  that  such  an  answer  would  be  very  unreasonable — for 
he  asks,  ingeniously  enough,  '  how  can  the  guests  dress  a  dinner,  especially  when 
they  have  not  possession  of  the  kitchen  ? '  But  did  it  never  strike  him  that  the 
present  is  not  the  case  of  guests,  called  upon  to  eat  a  dinner — it  is  one  of  rival 
cooks,  who  want  to  get  into  our  kitchen.  We  are  here  all  on  ever)-  side  cooks 
— a  s}-nod  of  cooks  (to  use  Dr.  Johnson's  phrase)  and  nothing  but  cooks;  for  it  is 
the  very  condition  of  our  being — the  bond  of  our  employment  under  a  common 
master — that  none  of  us  shall  ever  taste  the  dishes  we  are  now  dressing.  The 
Commons  may  taste  it  ;  but  can  the  Lords  ?  We  have  nothing  to  do  but  pro- 
pose the  viands.  It  is  therefore  of  primary  importance,  when  the  authority  of 
t^vo  classes  of  rival  artists  is  the  main  question,  to  inquire  what  are  our  feat*; 
severally  in  our  common  calling. 

And  in  answer  to  the  extreme  and  impossible  case  put  by 

the  Earl  of  Harrowby,  of  the  population  of  an  enfranchised 

borough  of  four  thousand  souls  being  all  paupers,  he  said  that 

he  had   a   right  to  put  an  extreme  case  on  the  other  side, 

to  illustrate    the    nature  of   representation  under  the  rotten 

borough  system  ;  and  he   instanced   the  case  of  the  Nabob 

Wallajah  Cawn  Bahadur,  who  '  had  actually  his  eigliteen  or 

twenty  members  bought  with  a  price,  and  sent  to  look  after 

his  pecuniary  interests  as  honest  and  independent  members  of 

Parliament.' 

•  Behold,'  he  said,  '  the  sovereign  of  the  Camatic,  who  regards  nor  land,  nor 
rank,  nor  connection,  nor  open  country,  nor  populous  city  ;  but  his  eye  fastens 
on  the  time-honoured  relics  of  departed  greatness  and  extinct  population— the 
w-alls  of  Sarum  and  Gatton  :  he  arms  his  right  hand  with  venerable  parchments, 
and  pointing  with  his  left  to  a  heap  of  star  pagodas,-  too  massive  to  be  carried 
along,  lays  siege  to  the  citadel  of  the  Constitution,  the  Commons'  House  of 
Parliament,  and  its  gates  fly  open  to  receive  his  well-disciplined  band.' 

But  our  limits  compel  us  to  stop.  We  shall  be  glad  if  any- 
thing we  have  said  has  the  effect  of  making  these  speeches 
more  generally  read.  We  advise  all  who  wish  to  qualify 
themselves  as  public  speakers  to  study  the  orations  of  Lord 
Brougham.  They  will  find  them  a  storehouse  of  manly 
thought,  of  vigorous  argument,  and  lofty  eloquence  upon  all 
the  great  questions  of  his  time.  Few  may  hope  to  rival  the 
orator  who  defeated  the  bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties  against 
Queen  Caroline,  and  snapped  asunder  the  chain  of  Slavery ; 
but  none  can  fail  to  profit  by   the  example.     But  above  all 


2  2  £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

things,  let  no  one  imagine,  that  without  taking  pains  and  be- 
stowing labour,  he  can   rise  to   eminence  as  an  orator.     He 
may  be  a  fluent  speaker  and  an  expert  debater,  but  an  orator 
he  will  not  be,  if  he  refuses  to  copy  the  example  and  follow 
the  precepts  of  the  great   masters  of  the  art.     And  of  all 
auxiliaries  to  the  tongue,  the  pen  is  the  best.     Cicero  tells  us, 
that  stilus  optinius  ct  prastantissvnus  dicendi  effector  et  magis- 
ter ;  and,  to  use  his  own  beautiful  simile,  the  habit  of  writing 
passages  in  a  speech  will  communicate  aptness  and  force  to 
extempore  expression,  just  as  the  vessel  retains  her  onward  way 
from  the  impetus  previously  given,  after  the  stroke  of  the  oar 
has  ceased.     Let  us,  however,  not  be  misunderstood.    We  by 
no  means  intend  to  advise  a  habit  of  writing  out  the  whole  of 
a  speech,  and  getting  it  off  by  heart  before  it  is  delivered.    Not 
only  does  this  impose  too  great  a  load  upon  the  memoiy,  and 
render  the  chance  of  a  break-down  almost  inevitable,  when,  from 
sudden  nervousness  or  any  other  cause,  some  passage  which 
forms  a  necessary  link  in  the  chain  is  forgotten  ; — but  it  pre- 
vents a  speaker  from  feeling,  as  it  were,  the  pulse  of  his  audience, 
and  varying  his  style  and  tone  according  to  the  impression 
which  he  sees  is  made  upon  them.     In  most  cases  a  written 
speech  is  a  failure  from  this  cause.     But  the  subject  matter 
should  be  beforehand  well  and  thoroughly  digested  ; — there 
should  be  the  cogitatio  et  commentatio  insisted  upon  by  Cicero ; 
and  in  addition  to  this,  with  respect  to  particular  passages, 
the  assidua  ac  diligcns  scriptitra.     By  this  means  the  speaker 
will  have,  laid  up  in  the   arsenal   of  his  memory,  a  supply  of 
weapons  ready  for  any   emergency  that  may  arise  ;  and  it  is 
almost  a  truism  to  say,  that  sentences  considered  beforehand 
in  the  laboratory  of  thought,  and  submitted  to  criticism  and 
revision  by  being  embodied  in  written  composition,  must  be 
more  likely  to  be  effective  than  those  which  are  thrown  off 
hastily  in  the  hurry  of  debate,  when  there  is  no  time  to  pause 
for  the  best  and  most  appropriate  expression.    But,  indeed,  the 
habit  of  composition  will  have  the  effect  of  suggesting  to  the 
speaker,  at  all  times,  the  best  word  and  the  best  sentence ; 
and  will  thus  assist  him  whenever  the  necessity  occurs  for  un- 
premeditated reply.     Cicero  amongst  the  ancients,  and  Lord 
Brougham    amongst    the    moderns,    have  shown    with    what 


THE  SPEECHES   OF  LORD  BROUGHAM.  23 

advantage   familiarity  with  writing  and  practice  in  speaking 
mutually  act  and  react  upon  each  other. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  add,  that  the  value  of  this  collection 
of  Lord  Brougham's  speeches  is  enhanced  by  the  historical 
introductions  written  by  himself,  and  prefixed  to  several  of 
them,  explaining  the  occasions  on  which  they  were  delivered, 
and  the  subjects  to  which  they  refer.  The  style  of  these  in- 
troductions is  excellent — clear,  vigorous,  and  correct — and 
they  are  in  themselves  a  very  useful  contribution  to  the  history 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 


24  BSSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 


CRIMINAL    PROCEDURE   IN   SCOTLAND   AND 
ENGLAND. ' 

•Edinburgh  Review,' October,  1858. 

Differing  as  Scotland  and  England  do  in  many  national 
characteristics,  there  is  nothing  in  which  these  differences  are 
more  conspicuously  shown  than  in  their  respective  systems  of 
Jurisprudence.     By  merely  crossing  a  stream,   or  passing  a 
bleak  range  of  hills,  an  Englishman  will  find  himself  in  a  part 
of  his  native  island  where  civil  rights  and  social  status,  where 
questions  of  liberty  and  life  are  determined  by  laws  totally 
different  from  his  own.     That  which  is  mere  concubinage  in 
England  may  amount  to  a  legal  marriage  in  Scotland.    What 
is  bigamy  in  the  one  country,  owing  to  the  non-recognition  by 
the  English   Courts  of  a  Scotch  divorce  in  the  case  of  an 
English  marriage,  may  be  a  lawful  second  marriage  in  the 
other.     A  child  who  would  be  a  bastard  in  England  may  be 
legitimate  in  Scotland.    Contracts  which  could  not  be  enforced 
south  of  the  Tweed  are  binding  north  of  that  river.     In  Eng- 
land it  is  impossible  to  perpetuate  an  entail  by  the  mere  force 
of  a  deed  of  settlement  :  in  Scotland  there  are  entails  which 
cannot  be  broken  except  by  Act  of  Parliament.     If  a  crime 
be  committed,  it  must  be  detected,  and  proved,  and  punished 
in  a  different  manner.     The  verdict  of  an  English  jury  is  una- 
nimous :  in  Scotland  the  verdict  in  criminal  cases  is  decided 
by  a  majority.    In  England,  when  a  man  is  put  upon  his  trial, 
he  is  declared  to  be  either  Guilty  or  Not  Guilty  :  in  Scotland 
the  charge  may  be  declared  to  be  Not  Proven. 

These  are  a  few  only  of  the  differences  in  the  jurisprudence 
of  the  two  countries ;  but  they  are  sufficient  to  show  how  great 

'I.   Report  of  the  Trial  of  Maddcijic  IRVINE,  Advocate.    Ediiilmrgh  :   1858. 
Smith,  before  the  High    Court  of  Justi-  2.   Report  from   the  Select  Committee 

ciary  at  Edinburgh,  June  T,Oth  to  July  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Public  Pro- 

^th,    1857.     By  "Alex.\nder  Fokues  secutors.     May,  1856. 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  25 

a  contrast  exists  between  them,  and  it  would  be  interesting  to 
compare  them  in  a  variety  of  details.  This,  however,  would 
require  a  volume ;  and  in  the  present  article  we  propose  to 
confine  our  attention  to  some  salient  points  of  contrast  in  their 
respective  systems  of  criminal  procedure ;  and  we  shall  avail 
ourselves  for  this  purpose  of  the  report  of  a  recent  trial,  which 
must  be  fresh  in  the  recollection  of  our  readers,  and  in  which 
the  difference  between  the  two  was  conspicuously  shown. 

Such  an  inquiry  may  be  not  without  use.  For  the  object 
of  the  forms  of  criminal  procedure  in  both  countries  must  be 
the  same,  namely,  the  protection  of  the  innocent,  and  the  dis- 
covery and  punishment  of  crime.  To  these  great  ends  all 
rules  and  formulas  ought  to  be  subordinate.  To  exclude  any 
suspicion  of  partiality  or  unfairness,  as  little  as  possible  should 
be  left  to  the  discretion  of  those  who  administer  the  law.  It 
is  therefore  necessary  that  general  rules  should  be  laid  down 
and  adhered  to,  however  hard  their  operation  may  seem  to  be 
in  particular  cases  ;  and  it  is  also  of  the  last  importance  that 
these  rules  should  be  such  as  are  likely  to  provide  most  effec- 
tually for  the  ends  in  view.  On  a  comparison  between  the 
Scotch  and  English  systems,  it  might  perhaps  be  difficult  to 
decide  which  of  the  two,  taken  separately,  is  the  best  adapted 
for  the  defence  of  innocence  and  the  detection  of  guilt  ;  but 
we  think  it  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  show  that  in  each  there  are 
deficiencies  that  might  be  supplied,  and  faults  that  might  be 
corrected,  by  the  example  of  the  other  ;  and  that  from  a 
judicious  amalgamation  of  the  two  might  be  formed  a  system 
of  procedure  superior  to  either  as  it  now  stands. 

The  case  to  which,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  we  shall 
chiefly  make  reference  in  the  following  pages  is  that  of  Made- 
leine Hamilton  Smith,  who  was  tried  at  Edinburgh,  in  July, 
1857,  for  the  alleged  murder,  by  poisoning,  of  Pierre  Emile 
L'Angelier.  This  has  become  one  of  the  causes  cclthrs  of 
Great  Britain.  The  relations  between  the  prisoner  and  the 
deceased — her  former  passionate  attachment  to  him — her  age, 
sex,  and  social  position — her  unparalleled  letters — the  dark 
and  impenetrable  mystery  in  which  his  death  is  still  shrouded, 
after  an  investigation  which  exhausted  every  possible  means 
of  arriving  at  the  truth — the  remarkable  ability  displayed  both 
on  the  side  of  the  prosecution  and  the  side  of  the  defence — 


26  JSSSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

all  these  circumstances  combine  to  invest  the  case  with  an  ex- 
traordinary degree  of  interest ;  and  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  in  the  criminal  annals  of  any  country  a  trial  more  likely 
to  stimulate,  and  yet  baffle,  curiosity. 

We  will  state  very  shortly  the  leading  facts. 

L'Angelier  was  a  native  of  Jersey,  and  in  the  year  1855, 
while  in  the  employment  of  a  mercantile  firm  in  Glasgow, 
became  acquainted  with  Madeleine  Smith,  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Mr.  Smith,  an  architect,  who  resided  in  Blythwood  Square, 
in  that  city.  An  attachment  sprung  up  between  them  ;  and 
as  the  young  lady's  parents  were  opposed  to  an  engagement, 
they  corresponded  secretly,  and  had  several  clandestine  inter- 
views. In  the  month  of  May,  1856,  she  surrendered  herself 
entirely  to  L'Angelier,  and  her  letters  to  him  were  of  the 
most  compromising  character,  breathing  the  warmest  language 
of  passionate  attachment,  and  addressing  him  constantly  as 
her  darling  husband.  But  in  the  course  of  the  following  winter 
a  Mr.  Minnoch  paid  his  addresses  to  her ;  and  in  January, 
1857,  he  niade  proposals  of  marriage,  which  she  accepted; 
and  it  was  afterwards  arranged  that  the  wedding  should  take 
place  in  the  month  of  June  following.  She  kept  up,  however, 
a  most  affectionate  correspondence  with  L'Angelier  until  the 
beginning  of  February,  1857,  when,  becoming  jealous  of  the 
attentions  of  her  new  admirer,  he  returned  one  of  her  notes. 
She  then  wrote  and  proposed  that  the  engagement  between 
them  should  be  broken  off ;  and  became  very  urgent  to  have 
all  her  letters  returned.  L'Angelier  not  only  did  not  comply 
with  her  request,  but  seems  to  have  threatened  to  show  the 
letters  to  her  father.  She  wrote,  on  February  1 1,  in  the  most 
agonizing  terms  of  entreaty  to  him,  begging  him  not  to  make 
her  '  a  public  shame  ; '  and  then,  two  or  three  days  afterwards, 
resumed  her  correspondence  with  him  in  her  former  strain  of 
passionate  love.  Her  bedroom  was  on  the  ground-floor,  facing 
the  street  ;  and  through  the  bars  of  the  window  she  used  to 
pass  notes  to  L'Angelier,  and  on  one  occasion,  undoubtedly, 
she  received  him  into  the  house  at  night.  On  February  21 
she  purchased  arsenic  at  a  shop  in  Glasgow,  and  on  March  6 
the  same  poison  at  another  shop ;  on  each  occasion  signing 
her  name  in  the  druggists'  book,  and  on  the  last  accompanied 
by  a  female  friend.     She  said  at  the  time  that  she  wanted  the 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  27 

arsenic  to  kill  rats  ;  but  when  judicially  examined  afterwards 
before  her  trial,  she  declared  that  she  made  use  of  it  as  a  cos- 
metic. What  really  was  done  with  it,  there  was  no  evidence 
to  show.  As  the  attentions  of  Mr.  Minnoch  became  more 
marked,  L'Angelier's  suspicions  were  again  roused,  and  early 
in  March  he  wrote  to  her  demanding  an  explanation.  To  this 
she  sent  an  evasive  reply,  and  soon  afterwards  left  Glasgow 
with  her  family  to  go  to  the  Bridge  of  Allan,  near  Stirling. 
From  that  place  she  wrote  on  the  1 3th  to  L' Angelier,  and  on 
the  1 6th,  three  days  afterwards,  to  Mr.  Minnoch,  two  letters, 
which  are,  we  hope,  without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  amatory 
correspondence,  for  in  each  she  pledged  herself  to  the  person 
addressed,  and  left  each  under  the  impression  that  he  w^as  the 
sole  object  of  her  love.  She  then  returned  to  Glasgow,  and 
on  March  1 8,  accompanied  by  a  young  lady,  she  made  a  third 
purchase  of  arsenic  at  the  same  shop  where  she  had  bought 
the  poison  on  the  6th  previously.  On  the  19th  L' Angelier 
left  Glasgow  for  the  Bridge  of  Allan,  and  on  the  same  day  a 
note  came  to  his  lodgings  from  Madeleine  Smith,  appointing 
an  interview  for  the  following  night,  Thursday,  the  20th, 
which  was  forwarded  to  him  at  the  Bridge  of  Allan.  The  next 
day  she  wrote  to  him  again,  thinking  he  was  still  at  his 
lodgings  in  Glasgow,  saying  that  she  had  waited  for  him,  but 
he  did  not  come  ;  and  adding,  '  I  will  wait  again  to-morrow 
night — same  hour  and  arrangement.'  She  then  earnestly 
begged  him  to  meet  her  at  the  time  appointed.'  This  letter 
was  received  by  L' Angelier,  at  the  Bridge  of  Allan,  on  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  the  22nd,  and  on  the  evening  of  that  day 
he  arrived  at  his  lodgings  in  Glasgow.  He  quitted  them  about 
nine  o'clock,  and  was  not  again  seen  by  any  one  who  could 
give  evidence  of  the  fact  at  the  trial,  until  he  returned  to  his 
lodgings,  about  half-past  two  in  the  morning,  when  he  rang 
the  bell  violently,  and  said  he  was  very  ill.    He  rapidly  became 

'  In  this  rapid  sketch  we  of  course  bability  is  greatly  in  favour  of  the  view 

cannot  attempt  an  analysis  of  the  evi-  contended  for    by   the   then   Dean    of 

dence,  but  there  was  much  controversy  Faculty,  now  Lord  Justice  Clerk,  who 

at  the  trial  about  the  date  of  this  letter,  was  counsel  for   the   prisoner  ;  namely, 

which  was  a  most  important  fact  to  as-  that  the  letter  was  -written  on   the   Fri- 

certain.   The  post-mark  was  '  Glasgow,  day,  but  posted,  or  at  all  events  stamped, 

March  21,  1857,'   and  the  prosecution  on  the  Saturday,  and  that   the  appomt- 

assumed    that  the    'to-morrow    night,'  ment  made  in  it  was   for  the   Saturday 

alluded  to  in  it,  was   Sunday  the  22nd.  and  not  the  Sunday  night.     The  letter 

But  we  think  that  the  balance  of  pro-  itself  was  not  dated. 


28  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

worse,  and  died  in  a  few  hours,  his  body,  on  a  post  mortan 
examination,  showing  unmistakably  that  his  death  was  caused 
by  his  having  taken  a  large  quantity  of  arsenic. 

The  question  was,  by  whom  was  that  arsenic  administered  ? 
The  jury,  by  a  majority,  found  the  charge  against  Madeleine 
Smith,  who  was  tried  for  the  murder.  Not  Proven.  The  nature 
of  the  proceedings  in  this  remarkable  case  will  exemplify  the 
remarks  we  are  anxious  to  make  on  the  criminal  jurisprudence 
of  this  country. 

The  subject  of  criminal  procedure  naturally  divides  itself 
into  two  parts :  i.  The  preliminary  steps  taken  where  a  crime 
is  alleged  to  have  been  committed,  and  before  the  accused 
party  is  brought  to  trial :  2.  The  conduct  of  the  trial  itself. 

With  respect  to  the  first  of  these  two  divisions  the  Scotch 
system  has  been  so  clearly  and  ably  detailed  by  Mr.  Mon- 
creifif,  while  holding  the  office  of  Lord  Advocate  under  Lord 
Palmerston's  Government,  in  his  evidence  given  in  1855  before 
the  '  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Public 
Prosecutors,'  that  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  passage 
at  length.     He  says  : — 

The  system  proceeds  upon  the  principle  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  detect 
crime,  apprehend  offenders,  and  punish  them,  and  that  independently  of  the  in- 
terest of  a  private  party.  The  Scotch  system  acknowledges  the  right  of  a  private 
person  to  prosecute  ;  but  the  duty  of  the  public  prosecutor,  is  altogether  irre- 
spective of  that.  The  staff,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  of  the  public  prosecutor  is  as 
follows  :  the  Lord  Advocate  is  the  head  of  the  criminal  department ;  under  him 
he  has  four  advocates-depute,  and  these  do  the  business  that  a  barrister  properly 
does  in  criminal  cases  ;  their  duty  is  to  advise  in  the  proceedings  while  they  are 
going  on,  in  the  collection  of  evidence  in  the  country,  and,  when  the  evidence  is 
completed,  to  draw  the  indictment,  and  to  attend  the  trial,  and  take  the  ordinary 
part  in  procuring  a  conviction. 

The  means  of  detecting  and  punishing  crime  in  the  country  consist,  in  the 
first  place,  of  the  Procurator  Fiscal  ;  there  is  a  Procurator  Fiscal  for  each 
county,  and  a  Procurator  Fiscal  for  some  of  the  larger  boroughs.  In  the 
counties  he  is  appointed  by  the  sheriff,  in  the  boroughs  he  is  appointed  by  the 
town  council,  but  he  is  directly  under  the  orders  of  the  Lord  Advocate  and  his 
deputes.  The  mode  in  which  the  system  operates  is  this.  The  Procurator  Fiscal 
receives  information  that  a  crime  has  been  committed  ;  his  duty  is  to  make 
immediate  inquiry  ;  if  any  person  is  suspected,  he  applies  to  the  sheriff  for  a 
warrant  to  apprehend  him;  he  does  apprehend  him,  and  the  party  is  taken 
before  the  sheriff  for  examination,  and  upon  that  occasion  the  declaration  is  taken  ; 
the  party  is  cautioned  that  he  need  not  speak  unless  he  likes,  and  then  he  is  asked 
by  the  Procurator  Fiscal,  in  the  presence  of  the  sheriff,  any  questions  which  seem 
to  be  material ;  and  his  answers  are  taken  down  and  may  be  used  against  him  m 
evidence.  Then,  if  there  appears  to  be  ground  for  an  immediate  warrant  to 
commit,  he  may  be  committed  at  once  ;  the  usual  course  is  to  commit  him  for 
further  examination,  and  then  the   Procurator  Fiscal  lakes  what  is  called  a  pre- 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE,  29 

cognition  ;  that  is  to  say,  he  examines  the  witnesses  whom  he  can  discover,  not 
pubHcly  but  privately ;  they  are  not  properly  depositions,  but  they  are  statements 
taken  down  by  the  P'iscal  and  signed  by  the  witnesses  ;  and  if  the  case  is  at  all 
of  importance  to  warrant  it,  he  sends  this  precognition  to  the  Crowni  agent.  The 
witnesses  may  be  examined  on  oath,  but  this  is  not  usually  done,  unless  the  wit- 
ness is  reluctant.  The  precognition  is  sent  by  the  Crown  agent  to  the  advocate- 
depute  of  the  district  in  which  the  crime  has  been  committed  ;  it  is  his  business  to 
read  it  over,  and  if  he  is  satisfied,  may  order  no  further  proceedings,  or  he  sends 
down  to  the  Fiscal  to  have  the  party  committed  until  liberated  in  due  course  of 
law,  if  that  has  not  been  already  done,  and  proceeds  to  indict.  Then  the  ques- 
tion is  where  the  party  is  to  be  tried.  He  may  be  tried  before  the  sheriff,  or 
before  the  circuit,  or  before  the  High  Court  of  Justiciary.  If  it  is  a  small  offence, 
such  as  an  ordinary  theft,  the  general  course  is,  to  send  the  party  to  be  tried  by 
the  sheriff,  either  with  or  without  a  jury,  and  then  the  Procurator  Fiscal  attends 
and  prosecutes.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  party  is  an  old  offender,  and  he  is 
indicted  at  the  circuit,  the  advocate-depute  attends.  If  it  is  a  serious  offence,  or 
committed  within  the  home  circuit,  he  is  tried  before  the  High  Court  of  Justiciary  ; 
and  in  that  way  it  appears  to  me  that  the  machinery  works  remarkably  well. 
How  it  would  do  upon  a  larger  scale,  I  can  hardly  say ;  but  from  Scotland  being 
limited  in  extent,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  I  think  it  answers  all  the  objects 
of  such  an  institution  very  well  indeed.  I  can  say,  from  my  own  experience,  that 
it  operates  fully  as  much  in  the  protection  of  innocent  persons  against  unfounded 
accusations,  as  it  does  in  the  detection  of  crime  ;  and,  for  my  own  part,  I  think 
that  the  want  of  publicity  in  the  first  examinations,  if  you  have,  as  we  have,  a 
sufficient  check  in  the  superintendence,  such  as  I  have  described,  tends  very  much 
indeed  to  the  detection  of  the  guilty  :  and  I  do  not  believe  that  our  Procurators 
Fiscal  would  think  it  any  advantage  to  have  the  witnesses  examined  in  public. 
That  is  the  system  which  we  follow. 

Mr.  Moncreiff  further  stated,  that  the  Procurator  Fiscal  is 
usually  a  leading  attorney  in  the  county  town  ;  that  he  is 
paid  by  salary  in  some  cases,  by  fees  in  others  ;  the  advocates- 
depute  are  four,  besides  one  for  the  Sheriff's  Court ;  they  are 
practising  barristers,  and  reside  in  Edinburgh  ;  and  in  the 
event  of  the  advocate-depute  refusing  to  prosecute,  the  Lord 
Advocate  may  be  applied  to,  and  he  frequently  orders  him  to 
report  upon  the  case.  All  cases  of  any  importance  are  con- 
sidered personally,  by  the  Lord  Advocate  or  the  Solicitor- 
General.  Sometimes  also,  but  very  rarely,  prosecutions  by 
private  parties  take  place. 

To  this  we  may  ourselves  add  that  even  where  the  Crown 
counsel  do  not  think  fit  to  prosecute,  and  the  accused  person 
is  discharged  from  commitment  at  their  instance,  the  injured 
party  has  still  the  right  to  prosecute  at  his  own  instance,  with 
concourse  of  the  Lord  Advocate,  as  it  is  technically  called. 
This  concourse  the  Lord  Advocate  may  be  compelled  by  the 
High  Court  of  Justiciary  to  grant,  and  in  practice  it  is  never 
refused.     But  the  conduct  of  the  case  is  then  entirely  under 


30  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  control  of  the  private  party,  who  is  hable  for  damages 
and  expenses  if  it  turns  out  that  there  is  no  reasonable  ground 
for  the  prosecution.  And  he  may  be  compelled  to  take  an 
'oath  of  calumny'  that  he  has  just  reasons  to  prosecute,  and 
that  the  facts  charged  in  the  indictment  are,  so  far  as  he 
knows,  true.  In  all  cases  the  information  or  complaint  to 
the  Procurator  Fiscal,  by  the  express  direction  of  the  Statute 
of  Anne  in  1701,  must  be  in  writing,  and  signed  by  the 
party  making  it,  without  which  a  suspected  person  cannot  be 
arrested  ;  and  the  party  so  signing  his  name  becomes  respon- 
sible for  the  whole  damages  and  expenses  consequent  on  the 
imprisonment,  if  it  proves  to  be  groundless  and  malicious. 
But  the  Procurator  Fiscal  may  be  the  informer  by  presenting 
to  the  Sheriff,  who  issues  the  warrant,  a  petition  describing 
the  offence  and  signed  by  himself 

In  England  the  death  of  L'Angelier  would  immediately 
have  been  the  subject  of  a  coroner's  inquest ;  but  in  Scotland 
there  is  no  coroner.  The  only  process  at  all  analogous  to  it 
on  that  side  of  the  Border  is  the  investigation  by  the  Procu- 
rator Fiscal  put  in  motion  by  information  he  receives,  that 
there  are  circumstances  attending  a  decease  such  as  to  justify 
the  suspicion  of  foul  play,  and  amounting  generally  to  a 
charge  against  some  particular  person.  We  think  that  the 
absence  of  a  coroner's  jury  is  a  decided  defect  in  our  Scotch 
jurisprudence,  although  we  are  bound  to  add  that  some  of  the 
highest  legal  authorities  in  Scotland  are  of  a  different  opinion 
and  would  object  to  its  introduction.  In  England  every  death 
which  does  not  manifestly  proceed  from  natural  causes,  includ- 
ing all  cases  of  sudden  death  by  accident  or  otherwise,  is  in- 
quired into  publicly  by  the  coroner.  He  is  ex  officio  bound 
to  ascertain,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained  by  evidence,  what 
was  the  cause  of  death  ;  and  provided  only  he  has  notice  of 
it,  his  duty  requires  him  to  summon  a  jury  without  waiting 
until  he  is  called  upon  to  do  so  by  the  friends  or  relatives  of 
the  deceased.  This  is  an  immense  safeguard  to  the  public,  as 
it  insures  a  searching  investigation  of  the  matter  while  the 
facts  are  recent,— the  recollection  of  every  one  interested  in 
the  inquiry  is  fresh — and  minute  links  in  the  chain  of  evidence 
can  be  most  easily  supplied.  It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that 
in  Scotland  also  a  similar  examination  takes  place  when  the 


CRIMINAL   PROCEDURE.  31 

case  is  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  Procurator  Fiscal,  and 
that  in  England  the  coroner  can  only  act  when  he  knows  that 
a  death  has  occurred  under  suspicious  circumstances,  and  this 
knowledge  can  only  be  obtained  by  information  from  others. 
But  there  is  a  wide  diflference  between  the  two  cases.  An 
English  coroner's  inquest  is  primarily  directed  to  investigate 
the  fact  of  death  and  the  cause  of  it ;  a  Scotch  precognition 
is  directed  against  a  supposed  criminal,  and  if  there  be  no 
suspected  person,  on  whom  does  the  precognition  attach  .-' 
The  English  form  proceeds  from  the  facts  to  the  person  of 
the  criminal ;  the  Scotch  form  proceeds  from  the  suspected 
person  to  the  facts.  In  Scotland  the  Procurator  Fiscal  does 
not  act  ex  mcro  inotu,  like  the  coroner  in  England,  whenever 
he  hears  of  a  suspicious  death.  He  waits  until  something 
like  a  charge  is  made  ;  and  we  know  how  unwilling  persons 
often  are  to  come  forward  and  make  such  a  charge,  when  the 
circumstances  amount  to  no  more  than  a  suspicion  of  guilt. 
The  consequence  is  that  crimes  must  not  unfrequently  escape 
punishment  from  the  absence  of  inquiry  into  the  cause  of 
death.  It  would  be  easy  to  adduce  many  cases  in  point 
upon  this  subject,  but  we  will  instance  only  one,  which,  we  be- 
lieve, has  not  hitherto  been  published,  and  which  will  be  suf- 
ficient for  our  purpose. 

Some  time  ago,  in  one  of  the  southern  counties  of  Scot- 
land, a  gentleman  and  his  wife — both  of  them  somewhat 
advanced  in  years — resided  on  their  own  estate  at  a  short 
distance  from  a  market  town.  One  daughter  of  about  thirty 
years  of  age  lived  with  her.  parents  the  other  children  were 
settled  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  This  young  lady  was 
known  for  her  bold  and  eccentric  habits,  and  there  was  some- 
thing coarse  and  repulsive  about  her.  She  had  previously 
inherited  a  small  independent  property  from  an  aunt,  who 
died  suddenly  whilst  she  was  staying  in  the  house  ;  and  she 
was  entitled  to  a  share  of  her  father's  estate  on  his  death, 
which  was  then  to  be  sold  to  pay  off  incumbrances  and  pro- 
vide for  the  several  children. 

The  father  had  long  been  an  invalid,  and  it  was  therefore 
without  surprise  that  the  neighbours  heard  that  he  was 
attacked  with  a  violent  illness  ;  but  his  wife,  who  was  pre- 
viously in   good  health,  suffered  at  the  same  time  and  in  the 


32  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

same  manner  from  vomiting  and  internal  disorder.  A  medi- 
cal man  was  called  in,  and  he  continued  to  attend  daily  for  a 
month  at  the  house.  The  symptoms  were  those  of  poisoning 
by  arsenic,  as  he  himself  admitted  when  afterwards  questioned 
on  the  subject.  He  prescribed  such  remedies  as  he  deemed 
proper,  and  the  symptoms  were  checked  for  a  time.  Rut 
these  remedies,  and  all  the  food  which  the  patients  took, 
were  administered  to  them  by  the  daughter,  who  never 
quitted  the  bedside  of  her  parents.  No  second  medical 
adviser  was  called  in,  and  after  a  life-and-death  struggle 
for  about  thirty  days,  both  the  father  and  mother  expired 
nearly  at  the  same  time,  and  lay  side  by  side  in  the  same 
bed.  The  daughter  exhibited  the  most  violent  and  even 
extravagant  grief,  and  flung  herself  on  the  dead  bodies  of  her 
parents.  No  further  inquiry  whatever  was  instituted  into  the 
cause  of  their  illness  and  death,  although  the  circumstances 
were  thought  suspicious  by  all  who  knew  them  ;  and  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  physician  was  in  his  own  mind  satisfied  that 
there  had  been  foul  play.  These  suspicions  were  strengthened 
in  a  remarkable  manner  by  the  conduct  of  the  young  lady 
herself  after  she  became  her  own  mistress.  She  hastily  got 
possession  of  her  share  of  the  property — flung  herself  into 
the  arms  of  a  profligate  apothecary,  with  whom  she  eloped  to 
France, — and  after  having  spent  the  whole  of  her  patrimony  in 
two  or  three  years,  she  terminated  her  own  existence  by  poison. 
This  was  a  case  which  demanded  the  most  searching  in- 
vestigation. The  suspicions  of  the  neighbours  were  aroused, 
and  the  medical  attendant  did  not  scruple  in  private  to  avow 
that  the  symptoms  of  the  illness  of  both  the  parents  were 
those  of  arsenical  poisoning  ;  and  yet  no  steps  were  taken  to 
clear  up  the  mystery  by  a  judicial  inquiry.  If  such  an  event, 
with  all  the  attendant  circumstances,  had  happened  in  England, 
there  would  have  been,  beyond  all  doubt,  a  coroner's  inquest 
held  on  the  remains.  The  rumour  would  have  reached  that 
officer's  ears  even  if,  as  is  most  likely,  a  direct  communication 
were  not  made  to  him  on  the  subject :  and  it  would  have 
been  his  duty  immediately  to  summon  a  jury,  and  investigate 
the  case.  To  set  the  inquiry  in  motion  it  would  not  have 
been  necessary  to  make  any  accusation,  but  simply  to  state 
that  the  deaths  were  suspicious  ;  and  then  the  evidence  ad- 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  33 

duced  would  have  pointed  out  the  suspected  party,  who 
would  have  been  apprehended,  and,  if  the  verdict  of  the  jury- 
justified  it,  would  have  been  committed  for  trial.  But  in  this 
case  the  fact  of  death  by  poisoning  was  never  proved  or 
legally  investigated,  and  in  the  absence  of  that  essential  fact 
no  proceedings  were  instituted  against  persons  whom  it  was 
painful  even  to  suspect  of  so  horrible  a  crime. 

But  if  the  want  of  a  coroner  is  a  disadvantage,  Scotland 
has  the  superiority  over  England  in  this  important  respect 
that  she  has  a  Public  Prosecutor,  Criminal  trials  there  are 
conducted  either  by  the  Lord  Advocate,  or  one  of  his  advo- 
cates-depute, and  he  is  thus  directly  responsible  for  the  punish- 
ment of  offences  and  the  due  fulfilment  of  the  ends  of  justice. 
This  duty  he  has  discharged  for  nearly  three  centuries,  if 
not  longer;  for  by  the  Act  of  1587  it  is  declared  that  'the 
Thesaurer  (Treasurer)  and  Advocate  pursue  slaughters,  and 
other  crimes,  although  the  parties  be  silent,  or  wald  otherwise 
agree,'  The  mode  in  wdiich  he  acts  has  been  already  ex- 
plained, and  we  will  now  proceed  to  consider  some  of  its 
advantages,  as  contrasted  with  the  absence  of  such  an  officer 
in  England, 

There  the  whole  system,  or  rather  want  of  system,  in  the 
conduct  of  prosecutions,  is  anomalous  in  the  extreme.  The 
conclusion  at  which  the  Commissioners  on  Criminal  Law,  in 
their  Report  of  1845,  arrived,  was,  that  'The  existing  law  is 
by  no  means  as  effectual  as  it  ought  to  be  :  the  duty  of  pro- 
secution is  usually  irksome,  inconvenient,  and  burthensome  ; 
the  injured  party  would  often  rather  forego  the  prosecution 
than  incur  expense  of  time,  labour,  and  money.  The  en- 
trusting the  conduct  of  the  prosecution  to  a  private  individual 
opens  a  wide  door  to  bribery,  collusion,  and  illegal  compro- 
mises,' Lord  Denman  has  recorded  his  opinion  that  'our 
own  procedure  for  the  purpose  of  preliminary  inquiry  is  open 
to  great  objection.  The  injured  party  may  be  helpless,  igno- 
rant, interested,  corrupt  ;  he  is  altogether  irresponsible,  and 
yet  his  dealing  with  the  criminal  may  effectually  defeat 
justice.  On  general  principles  it  would  evidently  be  desirable 
to  appoint  a  public  prosecutor.'^  Lord  Brougham  stated 
before  the  Committee  on  Public  Prosecutors  (1855)   that  he 

'  Eighth  Report  of  the  Commissioners  on  Criminal  Law,  1845, 
U 


34  JSSSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE.. 

agreed  in  this  view  ;  and  Lord  Campbell  said  that  '  At  pre- 
sent there  is  this  great  evil  from  the  want  of  a  public  prosecu- 
tor in  England,  that  the  criminal  law  is  often  most  shamefully 
perverted  to  mere  private  purposes.'  To  this  the  present 
Lord  Chief  Ju&tice  Cockburn,  then  Attorney-General,  added, 
that  Lord  Campbell  had  twice  publicly  from  the  bench  ad- 
dressed him  in  court  as  Attorney-General,  and  pointed  out 
the  necessity  of  having  a  public  prosecutor  to  prevent  scandals 
in  the  administration  of  justice. 

It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  it  were  otherwise,  consider- 
ing the  hap-hazard  mode  in  which  criminal  prosecutions  are 
taken  up  and  conducted  in  the  English  courts.     It  would  be 
difficult  to  make  an  intelligent  foreigner  believe  that  in  ordi- 
nary cases  it  is  left  very  much  to  chance  to  determine,  not 
only  who  the  prosecutor  shall  be,  but  whether  there  shall  be 
any  prosecution  at  all.     Except  in  cases  of  high  treason  or 
sedition,  or  offences  against  the  revenue,  it  is  no  part  of  the 
official  duty  of  the  Attorney- General  to  institute  a  prosecu- 
tion, although  it  frequently  happens  that  he  does  so  when  a 
crime  of  more  than  usual  magnitude  has  been  committed,  or 
when  the  offence  is  one  in  which  the  public  take  an  unusual 
degree  of  interest.     Such,  for  instance,  was  the  prosecution  of 
the  surgeon  Palmer  for  poisoning  with  strychnine,  and  the  still 
more  recent  cases  of  the  delinquent  bankers,  the  directors  of 
the  Royal  British  Bank,  and  the  Claimant  in  theTichborne  case.' 
But  in  all  other  cases  it  is  left  to  the  committing  magis- 
trate to  determine  who  the  prosecutor  shall  be.     Sometimes 
it  is  the  party  injured,  or,  if  he  be  dead,  his  friends  or  repre- 
sentatives.    Sometimes  it  is  the    policeman  who   has   been 
employed  to  investigate  the  case,  and  get  up,  as  it  is  called, 
the  evidence.     And  often    the  prosecution  is  dropped  alto- 
gether because  nobody  feels  sufficient  interest  to  go  on  with 
it.     It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  although  the  Crown 
is  always  nominally  the  prosecutor,  and  the  two  parties  at  the 
trial  are  the  Queen  and  the  prisoner,  yet  in  reality  where 
there  is  a  private  prosecutor,  the  conduct  of  the  case  is  left 
entirely  to  him,  and  he  employs  his  own  attorney  to  prepare 
the  evidence  and  retain  counsel. 

Moreover  there  is  no  settled  rule  applicable  in  all  places 
alike  ;  and  in  consequence  there  is  no  uniformity  of  system 

'  I  have  added  the  last  words  in  1874. 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  35 

throughout  England.  Mr.  Waddington,  Under-Secretary  of 
State  for  the  Home  Department,  stated  in  his  evidence  that 
an  uncertainty  exists  as  to  the  mode  in  which  a  particular 
prosecution  may  be  followed  out — it  varies  in  every  borough ; 
the  practice  of  the  metropolitan  districts  is  different  from  that 
of  the  counties.  It  is,  he  says,  irregular  and  anomalous, 
although  he  was  not  prepared  to  state  from  facts  within  his 
cognisance  that  there  is  any  general  failure  of  justice,  but 
from  the  irregularity  of  the  system  such  might  be  expected. 

Surely  such  a  state  of  things  as  this  is  discreditable  to 
English  jurisprudence.  It  may  be  alleged  indeed  of  it,  as  has 
been  so  often  said  of  many  of  our  institutions,  that  the  practice 
is  better  than  the  theory.  And  this  is  true  ;  for  in  theory  it 
seems  utterly  indefensible,  and  yet  we  know  that  prosecutions 
are  conducted  with  fairness,  and  convictions  are  obtained,  and 
crime  is  punished  and  repressed.  But  it  is  impossible,  in  the 
face  of  such  evidence  as  has  been  here  adduced — the  evidence 
of  men  above  all  others  competent  to  form  an  opinion  upon 
the  merits  and  demerits  of  our  system — to  maintain  that  no 
change  is  necessary,  and  to  acquiesce  in  the  conclusion  that, 
after  all,  it  works  well.  It  does  not  work  well  when  it  pro- 
duces such  results  as  have  been  shown  to  exist,  and  all  that 
can  be  said  in  its  favour  is,  that  much  more  evil  might  be  ex- 
pected to  flow  from  it  than  experience  tells  us  is  actually  the 
case.  There  is  a  corrective  in  public  opinion  declaring  itself 
through  the  medium  of  the  public  press,  which  prevents  many 
abuses  which  would  otherwise  be  the  almost  inevitable  conse- 
quence of  such  defects. 

Now  contrast  the  laxity  of  the  English  system  with  the 
vigilance  and  precision  of  the  Scotch.  And  it  has  this  further 
advantage,  that  it  affords  the  strongest  possible  security  against 
persons  who  are  not  guilty  having  to  undergo  the  pain  and 
disgrace  of  a  criminal  trial.  A  responsible  public  officer  of 
the  highest  legal  attainments,  has  the  case  and  the  evidence 
laid  before  him,  and  if  he  is  of  opinion  that  the  facts  do  not 
warrant  an  indictment,  the  accused  person  is  at  once  set  at 
liberty.  In  England  there  is  indeed  the  intervention  of  the 
grand  jury,  but  between  the  commitment  of  a  prisoner  fot 
trial  by  a  magistrate  and  the  preferring  of  the  bill  against 
liim  before  the  grand  jury,  a  period  of  seven  or  eight  months 


36  ^^^^KS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

may  elapse,  during  which  he  will  be  incarcerated,  although 
the  grand  jury  may  then  determine  that  there  is  not  even  a 
prima  facie  case  against  him.  And  it  must  be  confessed  that 
an  innocent  man  is  not  always  safe  in  the  hands  of  that  body, 
invaluable  as  the  institution  is  on  many  accounts.  A  striking 
instance  of  this  was  mentioned  by  Lord  Brougham,  in  his 
evidence  before  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in 
1855  :— 

Mr.  Blundell,  of  Ince,  a  Roman  Catholic  gentleman  of  old  family  and  con- 
siderable estate  in  Lancashire,  was  put  upon  his  trial  at  Lancaster  for  murder, 
and  held  up  his  hand  in  the  dock,  as  was  then  the  practice.  The  murder  which 
the  grand  jury  conceived  to  have  been  committed  by  him  was  this  :  There  was  a 
road  in  repair  upon  his  estate,  and  his  bailiff  had  omitted,  in  throwing  a  rope 
across  the  road  in  order  to  prevent  access,  to  put  a  lantern,  and  an  old  woman 
coming  from  market  at  night  in  a  donkey  cart,  tripped  over  this  rope,  for  want  of 
a  light,  and  broke  her  neck,  and  unfortunately  was  killed.  The  grand  juiy  con- 
sidered, in  the  first  place,  that  this  was  murder ;  and  in  the  next  place,  that  it 
was  murder  by  Mr.  Blundell,  perpetrated  by  the  negligence  of  his  bailiff.  The 
case  was  opened  before  Mr.  Baron  Wood,  who,  after  he  had  heard  the  facts, 
immediately  said,  '  Are  the  grand  jury  discharged  ?  go  and  see.'  The  gi-and  jury 
were  discharged,  and  could  not  be  found.  '  I  am  very  sorry  for  it,'  he  said, 
'  this  is  a  most  shameful  case.'  Mr.  Blundell  was,  of  course,  acquitted  ;  but  he 
went  down  to  the  grave  with  the  stigma  of  having  held  up  his  hand  on  a  charge 
of  murder,  in  the  dock,  among  felons  at  the  Lancaster  assizes. 

Public  attention  has  lately  been  directed  to  the  question  of 
the  expediency  of  an  entire  change  of  system  in  this  respect, 
and  a  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  was  ap- 
pointed in  1855,  for  the  special  purpose  of  considering  the 
subject.  The  plan  which  they  propose  in  their  report,  is  in 
substance  the  following  : — 

They  recommend  that  agents  should  be  appointed,  one  to 
each  of  a  certain  number  of  districts,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring and  conducting  prosecutions  to  the  time  of  trial,  and 
that  these  districts  should  be  as  coextensive  with  the  juris- 
diction of  the  existing  County  Courts  as  may  be,  regard  being 
had  to  the  integrity  of  counties.  The  duty  of  these  district 
agents  should  be  to  prepare  and  conduct  prosecutions  through 
the  stages  preliminary  to  trial.  Where  it  comes  to  their  know- 
ledge that  an  offence  has  been  committed,  and  that  no  steps 
have  been  taken  to  bring  the  offender  to  justice,  it  will  be  their 
duty  to  take  the  necessary  steps  for  bringing  the  offender 
before  a  magistrate  ;  or  if  the  party  have  already  been  appre- 
hended, and  the  case  is  one  of  any  difficulty  or  importance, 


CRIMINAL   PROCEDURE.  37 

they  are  to  take  upon  themselves  the  further  conduct  of  the 
prosecution,  and  prepare  the  evidence. 

The  Committee  propose  that  a  counsel  of  not  less  than 
ten  years'  standing  shall  be  appointed  for  each  circuit,  to  be 
the  advising  counsel  for  that  circuit  ;  and  that  to  him  the 
agents  for  the  districts  within  that  circuit  shall  resort  for 
advice  and  directions  in  all  cases  of  more  than  ordinary  diffi- 
culty. These  advising  counsel  are  to  communicate  with,  and 
act  under  the  directions  of,  the  Attorney-General,  forming  as 
it  were  the  staff  of  that  officer  in  the  administration  of  criminal 
justice. 

Individuals,  however,  instituting  prosecutions  are  not  to  be 
prohibited  from  employing  their  own  attorneys  and  counsel,  or 
to  be  com.pelled  to  resort  exclusively  to  the  public  prosecutor. 
But  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  compromises  which  are  some- 
times resorted  to  for  purposes  of  private  interest,  and  to  ensure 
the  effective  administration  of  justice,  they  recommend  that  it 
should  be  compulsory  on  an  attorney  employed  to  conduct  a 
prosecution,  to  give  notice  to  the  district  agent  of  his  inten- 
tion to  prefer  an  indictment,  and  that  the  latter  should  have 
authority  to  intervene. 

In  Scotland,  as  we  have  already  shown,  the  Lord  Advocate 
discharges  the  functions  of  public  prosecutor,  and  it  does  not 
seem  that  any  change  in  that  respect  is  necessary  or  desirable. 
But  the  population  of  England  is  immensely  greater  than  that 
of  Scotland  ;  and  the  duties  of  the  Attorney-  and  Solicitor- 
General  are  so  multifarious  and  heavy,  that  we  much  doubt 
whether  it  would  be  expedient,  or  indeed  possible,  to  impose 
upon  them  the  burden  of  such  an  office  as  that  of  Public 
Prosecutor.  Still  less  would  it  be  possible  for  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor to  undertake  the  duty.  Our  own  opinion  is,  that  some 
great  officer  of  state  ought  to  be  appointed  to  superintend  the 
whole  department  of  Criminal  Justice,  with  functions  in  some 
degree  analogous  to  those  of  the  French  Minister  of  Justice  ; 
and  if  it  be  not  thought  expedient  to  carry  into  effect  the 
resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  which  recommended  the 
creation  of  a  new  department  of  Government  for  this  purpose, 
we  conceive  that  the  same  duties  might  be  effectually  per- 
formed by  some  augmentation  of  the  powers  and  staff"  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department. 


38  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

The  next  point  deserving  of  notice  in  the  Scotch  and 
English  systems  is  the  difference  in  the  mode  of  examining 
the  suspected  party  before  he  is  finally  committed. 

At  the  trial  of  Madeleine  Smith,  the  first  witness  called 
was  the  sheriff-substitute  of  Lanarkshire,  who  gave  the  follow- 
ing evidence  : — 

I  know  the  panel.  She  was  judicially  examined  before  me,  and  emitted  a 
declaration  on  the  31st  March.  She  was  examined  on  the  charge  of  murder 
before  her  declaration  was  emitted.  The  greater  part  of  the  questions  at  the  ex- 
amination were  put  by  me.  The  statements  made  in  the  declarations  were  all 
given  in  answer  to  questions.  The  answers  were  given  clearly  and  distinctly. 
There  was  no  appearance  of  hesitation  or  reserve.  There  was  a  great  appear- 
ance of  frankness  and  candour.     The  declaration  is  of  considerable  length. 

and  the  declaration  was  read  in  Court  as  if  it  had  been  a 

spontaneous  and  continuous  narrative,  without  the  questions 
put  by  the  sheriff,  to  which,  in  fact,  it  was  a  series  of  answers. 

The  law  of  Scotland  requires  that  the  declaration  must  be 
taken  in  the  presence  of  the  magistrate  and  two  other  wit- 
nesses, who  subscribe  with  him  the  attestation  at  the  end, 
setting  forth  that  it  was  freely  and  voluntarily  emitted  in  the 
sound  and  sober  sense  of  the  declarant.  The  precognition 
of  the  witnesses  is  taken  afterwards,  in  the  absence  of  the 
accused,  who  is  not  allowed  to  be  present  himself,  or  to  have 
any  one  to  attend  on  his  behalf  to  cross-examine  them,  it 
being  one  of  the  directions  of  the  Justiciary  Court,  in  1709, 
for  the  taking  of  precognitions,  that  '  none  be  present  with 
the  clerk  at  the  examination  of  the  persons  cited  by  the 
sheriff  to  give  up  dittay'. 

It  is  urged  in  defence  of  this  system  that  it  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  preventing  publicity  to  the  injury  of  the  accused, 
in  cases  where  it  turns  out  that  the  charge  is  unfounded,  and 
no  further  proceedings  are  taken.  And  we  may  freely  admit 
that  this  is  true.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  grave 
objections  to  such  a  mode  of  preliminary  examination.  It 
is  too  much  like  putting  the  accused  an  secret  under  the  old 
French  system  before  the  Revolution.  It  is  essential  to  the 
purity  of  the  administration  of  justice  in  all  countries,  and  at 
all  times,  that  there  should  be  no  secret  tribunal  before  which 
an  accused  party  can  be  called  upon  to  appear  to  give  evi- 
dence against  himself.  Every  step  in  the  inquiry  when  he  is 
present  should  be  taken  openly  and  coram  populo.     And  this 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  39 

on  two  grounds  :  first,  as  giving  him  protection  against  the 
possibiHty  of  any  improper  practices  ;  and  next  as  affording 
the  best  security  that  the  judicial  officer  will  perform  his  duty 
not  only  with  fairness,  but  efficiency.  The  Scotch  law,  in- 
deed, requires  the  presence  of  two  other  witnesses  besides  the 
sheriff  or  sheriff-substitute,  for  the  purpose  of  proving  that 
the  declaration  was  '  emitted '  freely  and  voluntarily,  and  as 
a  guarantee  of  its  genuineness  ;  but  this  does  not  deprive  the 
proceeding  of  the  air  of  privacy  and  mystery  which  hangs 
over  it. 

It  is  difficult  therefore  for  those  w^ho  are  accustomed  to 
the  publicity  that  prevails  in  England  to  acquiesce  in  the 
conclusions  of  a  high  authority  on  Scotch  Criminal  Law,  that 
*  the  strict  seclusion  of  the  prisoner  in  the  interval  between 
arrest  and  commitment  to  stand  trial,  and  the  ex  parte  nature 
of  all  proceedings  in  precognition,  is  essential  to  the  great 
objects  of  Criminal  Jurisprudence,  the  conviction  of  the  guilty, 
and  the  speedy  liberation  of  the  innocent  prisoner.'^  On  the 
contrary,  we  should  be  much  more  disposed  to  agree  with 
the  opinion  of  Lord  Brougham,  who,  in  his  evidence  before 
the  Committee  on  Public  Prosecutors,  in  1855,  said: — 

There  are  great  inconveniences,  no  doubt,  in  the  publicity  of  tlie  examination; 
there  is  very  great  hardship  to  the  party  brought  before  the  magistrate  in  its  pub- 
licity ;  there  is  very  great  annoyance  and  hardship  to  the  witnesses  and  to  the 
prosecutor,  who  are  brought  before  the  magistrate,  no  doubt  ;  but  against  all 
that,  one  cannot  help  setting  the  great  advantage  of  the  publicity  of  the  proceed- 
ing, both  preventing  any  malpractices  by  placing  the  magistrate,  who  is  then  the 
Court,  in  the  eye  of  the  public,  and  also  by  the  great  benefit  which  arises  with  a 
view  to  police,  from  its  tendency  to  discover  evidence,  and  to  enable  the  parties 
prosecuting  to  be  put  upon  the  traces  to  find  witnesses  ;  so  that,  upon  the  whole, 
I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  benefits  exceed  the  disadvantages  of  a  public 
examination. 

Lord  Campbell  has  graphically  described  the  state  of 
things  that  existed  in  this  country  in  the  last  century : — 
'  Formerly  the  squire  sat  in  his  hall,  and  he  had  for  his  clerk 
his  gamekeeper,  and  they  had  in  the  poacher  before  them, 
and  they  did  with  him  what  they  liked.'^  And  although  we 
perfectly  well  know  that  the  privacy  of  the  examination  in 
Scotland  does  not  lead  to  abuse  like  this,  it  is  very  desirable 
that  so  delicate  a  matter  as  the  interrogatory  of  a  party  as  a 

'  Alison's  Pract.  Crim.  Law,    chap.  ^  Evidence   before   the   Committee 

V,  \A.  on  Public  Prosecutors,  1855. 


40  £SSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

witness  against  himself  should  be  surrounded  with  all   the 
safeguards  which  publicity  can  alone  supply. 

The  practice,  however,  is  not  peculiar  to  Scotland.  It 
prevails  in  France,  and  Germany,  and  Italy,  and  indeed  is 
common  to  all  the  countries  of  Continental  Europe.  In 
France  the  interrogatory  is  conducted  privately  by  the  jiige 
d' instruction,  and  the  accused  is  not  confronted  with  the 
witnesses,  who  are  examined  separately ;  nor  is  he  allowed 
at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  to  be  assisted  by  counsel. 
And  the  old  French  law  went  so  far  as  to  require  him  to 
take  an  oath  that  he  would  speak  the  truth  when  questioned 
against  himself 

In  England  nothing  of  the  kind  is  known.  An  accused 
person  there  is  brought  before  a  magistrate  in  open  Court, 
confronted  with  the  witnesses,  and  asked  whether  he  wishes 
to  say  anything,  while  he  is  at  the  same  time  cautioned  that 
what  he  does  say  will  be  taken  down  in  writing  and  hereafter 
made  use  of  against  him.*  In  Scotland,  also,  he  is  told  that 
he  need  not  speak  unless  he  likes,  and  he  is  warned  that 
his  declaration  will  be  used  against  him  ;  but  the  difference 
between  the  two  systems  in  this  particular  is  not  unimport- 
ant. In  England  no  questions  are  addressed  to  the  prisoner. 
If  he  makes  any  statement,  it  is  not  tn  answer  to  interroga- 
tories, but  is  a  spontaneous  and  voluntary  act  on  his  own  part. 
In  Scotland  we  see  that,  after  being  cautioned  that  he  need 
not  speak,  he  is  asked  by  the  Prosecutor  Fiscal  *  any  questions 
which  seem  to  be  material.'  Either,  therefore,  he  remains 
silent  altogether,  or  he  answers  the  questions  put  to  him,  or 
he  answers  some  of  them  and  declines  to  answer  others.  It 
will  be  found,  we  believe,  in  practice  a  rare  thing  for  a 
man  charged  with  an  offence  to  remain  wholly  silent  when 
pointedly  interrogated,  not  as  to  its  actual  commission,  but 
as  to  circumstances  connected  with  it,  the  significance  of 
which  he  may  not  immediately  perceive.  And  if  he  does 
answer,  the  law  is  in  fact  extracting  from  him  evidence  against 
himself 

It  may,  however,  be  doubted  whether  the  law  of  England 

'  It   is,  however,   right   to   notice,  without  their  consent,  'if  it  appear  to 

that  by  a  late  statute  (ii  &  12  Vict.  c.  him  or  them  that  the  ends  of  justice 

42.  §  19.)  the  iustices  have  the  power  to  will  be  best  answered  by  so  doing.' 
order  that   no  person  shall  be  present 


CRIMINAL   PROCEDURE.  41 

does  not  carry  tenderness  towards  a  man  accused  of  a  crime 
too  far.  Provided  he  is  not  betrayed  into  a  confession  by 
holding  out  improper  inducements,  or  coerced  into  it  by  prac- 
tising upon  his  fears,  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  what- 
ever he  says  against  himself  should  not  be  put  in  evidence  at 
his  trial,  although  he  may  have  had  no  warning  that  it  will 
be  made  use  of  against  him.  It  is  only  under  an  utterly 
corrupt  system  of  jurisprudence  that  an  innocent  person  will 
falsely  criminate  himself,  thinking  it  perhaps  safer  to  confess 
an  offence  which  he  has  not  committed,  and  sue  for  mercy,  than 
to  abide  the  result  of  atrial  which  he  feels  certain  will  termin- 
ate in  a  conviction.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  resorted,  in  the 
examination  oi  slaves,  to  the  use  of  torture,  and  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  indeed  in  later  times  in  Europe,  this  was  the  ap- 
proved method  of  question  in  the  case  of  all  persons  accused 
of  crime.  It  does,  indeed,  seem  marvellous  that  it  should 
never  have  occurred  to  people  in  those  days  how  utterly 
fallacious  torture  must  be  as  a  test  of  truth.  It  becomes  a 
mere  question  of  physical  endurance,  and  under  the  pressure 
of  intolerable  pain  the  most  innocent  person  may  confess 
himself  guilty,  preferring  speedy  death  to  the  prolonged 
agony  of  the  rack  or  the  wheel.  At  the  present  day  in 
England  the  Courts  of  Law  go  to  the  contrary  extreme,  and 
the  slightest  inducement  either  of  fear  or  hope  held  out  to 
an  accused  party  by  any  one  whose  position  or  authority  may 
be  supposed  to  exercise  an  influence  over  his  mind,  renders  a 
confession  inadmissible.^  Every  one  who  pays  attention  to 
the  reports  of  criminal  trials  in  the  London  newspapers,  must 
be  familiar  with  the  way  in  which  policemen  who  give  evi- 
dence of  confessions  made  by  prisoners  are  attacked  by 
counsel,  and  the  severity  with  which  they  are  handled  when 
they  have  put  questions  to  the  accused  with  a  view  to  elicit 
some  statement  from  him  ;  so  that  we  can  hardly  be  surprised 
at  the  answer  which  on  one  occasion  a  constable  gave  to  the 
Court  when  he  was  asked  whether  the  prisoner  had  not,  while 
in  his  custody,  made  some  admission  of  his  guilt.  He  said, 
'  Oh  no  ;  he  began  to  say  something  about  it,  but  I  knew  my 

'  One  of  the  most    astounding  in-  treason,    in     1554,    when    Lord    Chief 

stances    of  inducement   held  out    to  a  Justice  Bromley  thus   addressed   him  : 

prisoner  to  confess,  occurred  at  the  trial  '  How    say   you,    will  you  confess  the 

of  Sir  Nicholas  Throckmorton  for  high  maiKtr,  and  it 'vill  be  best  for  yoi4  ?^ 


42  jESSJVS   critical  AND  NARRATIVE. 

duty  better,  so  I  stopped  him.'  It  is  needless  to  add,  that 
the  constable  was  reprimanded  for  his  officiousness  ;  but  his 
mistake  was  excusable,  for  he  had  so  often  heard  his  brethren 
assailed,  and  been  so  often  assailed  himself,  for  deposing  to 
confessions,  that  he  was  determined  to  be  on  the  safe  side  for 
once.  We  think  that  unless  a  confession,  to  whomsoever 
made,  has  been  extorted  by  threats,  or  induced  by  a  distinct 
promise  to  stay  further  proceedings,  it  ought  to  be  received 
in  evidence  at  the  trial.  And  we  assert  this  on  the  broad  and 
intelligible  ground  that  except  in  the  cases  already  mentioned, 
it  is  absurd  to  believe  that  any  sane  man  in  this  country  will 
falsely  accuse  himself  of  a  crime  of  which  he  is  not  guilty. 
At  all  events,  in  all  cases  it  should  be  a  question  for  the 
judge,  at  his  discretion,  to  determine  whether  under  the  cir- 
cumstances the  statement  ought  to  be  submitted  to  the  jury. 

With  respect,  however,  to  the  general  question  of  the  expe- 
diency of  judicially  interrogating  a  person  accused,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  why,  if  this  course  of  procedure  is  proper  before 
the  sheriff  in  Scotland,  it  should  not  also  be  allowed  at  the 
trial,  as  it  is  in  France  and  other  countries  of  Europe,  where 
the  judge  examines  the  prisoner,  and  uses  all  his  dexterity 
to  make  him  convict  himself  of  the  crime  with  which  he  is 
charged.  It  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the  severity 
of  the  cross-examination  which — not  the  witness  but — the 
prisoner  there  has  to  undergo  from  the  presiding  judge,  and 
the  persevering  ingenuity  with  which  the  latter  tries  to  entrap 
him  into  admissions  fatal  to  himself.  He  adjures,  he  apostro- 
phises, he  scolds,  and  does  everything  in  his  power  to  make 
him  entangle  himself  in  inconsistencies,  and  so  betray  his 
guilt. 

'Is  it  not  scandalous,'  says  De  Quincy,  in  one  of  his  essays,  the  subject  of 
which  is  the  trial  and  death  of  the  Maid  of  Orleans,  '  is  it  not  humiliating  to 
civilisation,  that  even  at  this  day,  France  exhibits  the  horrid  spectacle  of  judges 
examining  the  prisoner  against  himself ;  seducing  him  by  fraud  into  treacherous 
conclusions  against  his  own  head  ;  using  the  terrors  of  their  power  for  extorting 
confessions  from  the  frailty  of  hope  ;  nay,  which  is  worse,  using  the  blandish- 
ments of  condescension  and  snaky  kindness  for  thawing  into  compliances  of 
gratitude  those  whom  they  had  failed  to  freeze  into  terror  ?  Wicked  judges  ! 
Barbarian  jurispnidence  !  that,  sitting  in  your  own  conceit  on  the  summits  of 
social  wisdom,  have  yet  failed  to  learn  the  first  principles  of  criminal  justice  :  sit 
ye  humbly  and  with  docility  at  the  feet  of  this  girl  from  Donremy,  that  tore  your 
webs  of  cruelty  into  shreds  and  dust.  "Would  you  examine  me  as  a  witness 
against  myself?"  was  the  question  by  which  many  times  she  defied  their  arts.' 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  43 

It  is,  however,  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  French  law 
enjoins  the  interrogatory  of  the  accused  as  a  duty  which  the 
judge  must  perform.  It  only  permits  it,  and  reserves  to  him 
the  right  of  choosing  the  moment  when  he  thinks  fit  to  exercise 
it.  But  inveterate  usage  has  made  it  part  and  parcel  of  the 
system  of  procedure,  and  it  is  almost  universally  the  practice 
to  commence  the  trial  by  questioning  the  accused  before  the 
witnesses  are  called.  Counsel  are  expressly  forbidden  to 
answer  for  him,  or  to  suggest  anything  to  him  at  this  stage  of 
the  proceedings ;  but  of  course  he  is  at  liberty,  if  he  likes,  to 
refuse  to  answer  the  questions  put  to  him,  and  in  that  case 
the  evidence  of  the  witnesses  is  taken  at  once.' 

Having  regard,  then,  to  the  universality  of  this  practice 
throughout  the  continent  of  Europe,  it  becomes  a  question 
well  worth  considering,  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong,  and  if 
right  whether  it  ought  to  be  introduced  in  Great  Britain.  Is 
it  prejudice  or  sound  reason  that  regards  the  questioning  of  a 
prisoner  at  his  trial,  as  contrary  to  the  principles  of  justice  .-' 
And  if  not  contrary  to  justice,  is  it  not  an  efficacious  means  of 
arriving  at  the  truth,  and  punishing  the  guilty  .'' 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  general  impression  is,  that 
such  a  mode  of  proceeding  is  unfair.  It  seems  to  take  advan- 
tage of  a  man  who  is  no  longer  a  free  agent,  to  make,  or 
endeavour  to  make,  him  supply  against  himself  proofs  which 
the  law  cannot  otherwise  obtain.  We  are  apt  to  regard  a 
criminal  trial  as  a  sort  of  duel  between  two  adversaries — the 
law  on  the  one  side  and  the  accused  on  the  other — and  it 
would  be  preposterous  to  ask  one  of  two  combatants  to  furnish 
weapons  to  the  other  to  be  used  against  himself  But  is  there 
not  a  fallacy  in  this  mode  of  viewing  the  question  ?  With 
regard  to  crimes,  can  there  be  any  such  thing  as  a  right  of  con- 
cealment .''  The  law  may  be  powerless  io  force  a  confession — 
or  it  may,  as  in  the  case  of  torture,  produce  one  which  will 
be  of  no  value,  because  it  must  always  be  uncertain  whether 
it  has  not  been  wrung  by  agony  from  the  lips  of  innocence 
— but  ought  it  to  refuse  to  interrogate  the  accused  who, 
perhaps,  alone  of  all  persons  in  the  world  can  give  the  in- 
formation requisite  to  determine  whether  he  is  or  is  not 
guilty  ^     We  must  of  course  assume,  in  the  argument,  that 

'   Loi,  28  Mai,  1836  :  art.  26. 


44  ESSAYS  CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

the  examination  is  so  conducted  as  to  exclude  the  possibility 
of  confounding  innocence  with  guilt  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  how  the  answer  given  by  an  innocent  party  to 
questions  put  to  him,  can  be  more  dangerous  to  him  than 
silence — which  is  one  of  the  strongest  presumptions  of  guilt. 
It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  in  some  cases  even  when  innocent, 
he  would  be  unable  to  give  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  facts 
which  wear  a  suspicious  appearance  against  him,  but  this 
would  afford  no  greater  presumption  of  guilt  than  exists 
where,  in  the  same  state  of  facts,  he  is  not  questioned  at  all. 
For  the  circumstantial  evidence  remaining  the  same,  the 
presumption  of  guilt  is  the  same,  whether  the  prisoner  does 
not  voluntarily  offer  to  explain  the  facts,  or  in  direct  answer  to 
a  question  says  that  he  cannot  explain  them.  It  is,  indeed, 
possible  to  suppose  cases  where  a  person  may  be  stupid 
enough  or  frightened  enough — although  innocent — to  give 
answers  which  may  strengthen  the  suspicions  against  him. 
But  this  would  generally  happen  only  where  the  examination 
was  badly  conducted — or  in  the  confusion  of  mind  created 
by  a  sudden  accusation — and  is  to  the  last  degree  unlikely 
to  be  the  case  at  a  trial  presided  over  by  a  humane  and 
enlightened  judge,  bent  only  on  discovering  the  truth,  and  more 
anxious  that  the  innocent  should  escape  than  that  the  guilty 
should  suffer. 

Even  in  France  the  theory  of  the  system  is,  that  the 
examination  should  be  conducted  with  the  most  scrupulous 
fairness  towards  the  accused.  '  Je  n'ai  pas  besoin,'  says  M. 
Berriat  Saint-Prix,  *  de  parler  de  la  loyaute  qui  doit  presider 
a  I'interrogatoire ; '  and  he  quotes  the  rule  laid  down  by  an 
old  French  jurist  on  the  subject: — 'Les  questions  que  le  juge 
fait  a  I'accuse  doivent  etre  claires,  precises  et  sans  equivoque  : 
il  doit  surtout  dviter  de  se  servir  de  ruses  et  de  discours 
captieux  pour  surprendre  I'accusd  Outre  que  cette  voie  ne 
convient  point  a  la  dignit6  d'un  magistrat,  c'est  qu'en  usant 
de  ce  moyen,  il  parait  plutot  agir  avec  passion  qu'anime 
du  zele  et  du  bien  dc  la  justice.'  But  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  this  rule  is  not  always  observed.  French  judges, 
while  rapidly  interrogating  the  prisoner,  are  apt  to  be  carried 
away  by  their  feelings,  which  are  excited  by  the  sort  of 
altercation  that  goes  on  between  them,  and  questions  arc  often 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  45 

put  which,  to  English  notions  at  all  events,  seem  to  the  last 
degree  unfair. 

In  his  evidence  before  the  Committee  on  Public  Prosecutors, 
already  referred  to.  Lord  Brougham  said  that  the  worst  of  all 
the  practice  in  the  French  procedure  is  '  the  torture  and 
question  which  the  prisoner  is  put  to  upon  his  trial  by  the 
judge.'  Upon  which  the  Attorney-General  (Sir  A.  E.  Cock- 
burn)  strongly  and  truly  remarked,  that  the  judge  constantly 
converts  himself,  in  the  sort  of  intellectual  contest  which  goes 
on  between  them,  into  an  advocate.  But  both  these  high 
authorities  confined  their  objection  to  the  conduct  of  the 
examination  by  theyV/<^^.  The  Attorney-General  asked  Lord 
Brougham  whether  the  interrogation  of  the  prisoner  might  not 
be  the  very  best  means  of  ascertaining  the  true  state  of  the 
case — not  allowing  the  judge  to  interrogate  the  prisoner — 
whereby  he  forgets  his  judicial  impartiality — but  allowing  the 
advocate,  the  public  prosecutor,  to  put  the  questions  }  To 
which  Lord  Brougham  answered,  *  /  am  perfectly  clear  that 
some  change  in  onr  laiv  npon  this  subject,  some  relaxation, 
is  absolutely  necessary'  And  he  added  that  his  objection  to 
the  French  procedure  was  that  it  was  the  worst  possible  mode 
of  doing  it. 

The  next  point  of  difference  between  the  Scotch  and 
English  systems  to  which  we  will  advert,  is  the  notice  required 
to  be  given  to  the  accused,  of  the  indictment  on  which  he  is 
to  be  tried,  and  the  names  of  the  witnesses  who  will  appear 
against  him.  In  Scotland  a  prisoner  must  be  served  with  a 
copy  of  the  indictment,  a  list  of  the  witnesses,  and  the  assize 
or  jury  which  is  to  try  him,  fifteen  days  before  the  trial. 

With  respect  to  the  list  of  witnesses,  we  think  that  the  rule 
of  notice  ought  to  be  limited  by  an  important  exception.  It 
seems  to  be  unwise  and  inexpedient  to  preclude  a  prosecutor 
from  availing  himself  of  testimony  which  may  not  be  discovered 
until  after  the  notice  has  been  given.  This  must,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  often  occur ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  it  should 
not  be  made  use  of.  Nemo  tenetur  ad  impossibile — and  it  is 
impossible  to  give  notice  of  that  which  is  not  yet  known  ;  but 
it  is  holding  out  a  premium  to  guilt  to  refuse  to  admit 
evidence  which,  by  the  mysterious  providence  of  God,  may 
not  be  disclosed  until  the  eleventh  hour.      The  rule  might 


46  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

well  be  that  a  list  of  all  witnesses  knowfi  to  the  prosecutor  at 
the  time  should  be  furnished  to  the  prisoner  beforehand, 
under  pain  of  having  their  evidence  excluded  —  but  it  should 
always  be  open  to  him  to  avail  himself  of  testimony  which  is 
not  discovered  until  afterwards,  and  even  while  the  trial  is 
going  on. 

By  the  English  law,  in  all  criminal  cases  except  high 
treason,  witnesses  may  come  forward  at  any  moment  before 
the  case  for  the  prosecution  has  closed.  Some  remarkable 
examples  have  occurred  of  the  detection  of  guilt  by  this 
means,  but  it  will  be  sufficient  to  mention  one.  We  allude 
to  the  trial  of  Courvoisier  for  the  murder  of  Lord  William 
Russell,  in  1840,  who  was  convicted  mainly  by  the  evi- 
dence of  a  witness  whose  attention  had  been  attracted  to 
the  report  of  the  trial  in  a  newspaper  as  it  was  going  on,  and 
who  produced  a  parcel  which  had  been  left  at  her  house  by 
the  prisoner,  and  which  contained  articles  that  were  identified 
as  the  property  of  the  deceased.  In  Scotland,  her  testimony 
could  not  have  been  received ;  and  very  possibly  the  prisoner 
would  have  escaped.^ 

In  point  of  fact,  in  England,  except  in  the  case  of  witnesses 
whose  evidence  is  not  known  to  the  prosecution  before  the 
trial,  and  who  unexpectedly  then  appear,  the  prisoner  almost 
always  knows  not  only  the  names  of  the  witnesses  who  will 
appear  against  him,  but  the  evidence  they  will  give.  This  is 
owing  to  the  practice  which  has  sprung  up  of  late  years,  of 
producing  and  taking  the  depositions  before  the  magistrate  or 
coroner    of  every   known   witness    who    can    possibly    give 

'  There   is  only  one  case  in  which  that   in   all   cases   of  prosecutions   for 

by  the  English  law  an  accused  party  is  misdemeanours,       instituted      by      the 

entitled   to  a  list  of  the  witnesses  be-  Attorney-    or     Solicitor-General,     the 

forehand.      Under  the  statute  7  Anne,  Court   shall,  if  required,   order  a  copy 

c.  21,  a  person  indicted   for  high  trea-  of  the   infomiation   or  indictment,  free 

son  has  a  right   to   have   a  copy  of  the  of  expense,  to  be  given  to  the  party  ac- 

indictment  and   a  list  of  the  witnesses  cused,  after  appearance, 

for  the  Crown,  and  of  the  jurymen  who  With  respect  to  witnesses,  although 

are   to   be  returned  on   the  panel,    ten  no  list  of  those   for  the   prosecution  is 

days    before  his    arraignment.      But    in  furnished  to  a  prisoner,  except   in  cases 

cases  oi felony,  a  prisoner,  in  England,  of  high    treason,    yet,    practically,   the 

has  no  right  to  see   the  indictment  until  same    result    is  obtained    by   virtue    of 

after  he  has  pleaded  not  guilty,  and  is  the  statute   11  &  12  Vict.  c.  42,  which 

put  upon  his  trial ;  nor,  in  point  of  fact,  enacts  that  a  prisoner  may  have,  before 

does    he   see  it  beforehand.     In  some  his   trial,  cojiies  of  the  depositions  on 

trials   for   misdemeanour  it   is  different.  which  he  has  been  committed,  on  pay- 

For  by  stat.   Geo.  4.  c.  4.  it  is  enacted  mcnt  of  a  reasonable  sum  for  the  same. 


CRIMINAL   PROCEDURE.  47 

evidence  in  the  case,  before  the  party  accused  of  the  offence 
is  committed  for  trial.  We  cannot  help  thinking  that  this 
system  has  arisen  from  a  misapprehension  of  what  the  English 
law  requires.  All  that  is  necessary  for  the  committing 
magistrate  to  ascertain  is,  whether  there  are  fair  and  reason- 
able grounds  for  sending  the  case  before  a  jury ;  and  he  steps 
beyond  the  boundary  of  his  office  when  he  does  more  than 
this,  by  going  into  all  the  minutiae  of  evidence,  and  sifting 
the  case  as  closely  as  if  he  were  called  upon  to  decide  the 
question  of  innocence  or  guilt.  He  has  only  to  satisfy  himself 
that  there  is  sufficient  presumption  against  the  accused  to 
justify  the  putting  him  upon  his  trial.  The  proof  is  afterwards 
a  question  for  the  jury. 

It  is  said,  indeed,  that  the  course  now  always  pursued  is 
fairer  towards  the  prisoner,  as  it  prevents  him  from  being 
taken  by  surprise  at  his  trial,  and  gives  him  notice  of  the 
evidence  which  he  will  be  called  upon  to  meet.  The  reason 
is  no  doubt  valid  as  far  as  it  goes,  and  the  Scotch  system  is 
based  upon  it.  But  there  is  an  important  difference  in  the 
preliminary  proceedings  in  the  two  countries,  which,  in  our 
opinion,  renders  the  practice  more  objectionable  in  England. 
In  Scotland,  the  examination  of  the  witnesses  for  the  prose- 
cution beforehand,  or  their  precognition,  as  it  is  called,  takes 
place  before  the  sheriff  or  Procurator  Fiscal  privately,  the 
accused  is  not  permitted  to  see  it,  and  the  public  know 
nothing,  except  by  rumour,  of  the  particular  facts  to  which 
the  w^itnesses  have  deposed.  In  England,  however,  every 
word  that  is  uttered  by  a  witness  in  an  important  case  before 
the  magistrate  or  coroner  is  spoken  in  open  Court,  and  is 
immediately  reported  in  the  newspapers.  To  such  an  extent 
is  this  now  carried,  that  if  we  were  to  compare  the  evidence 
given  before  the  committing  magistrate  in  one  or  two  noto- 
rious cases  of  late,  with  that  afterwards  given  at  the  trials,  we 
should  find  that  the  latter  was  nothing  more  than  a  repetition 
of  the  former,  varied  perhaps  in  some  slight  degree  by  the 
effect  of  a  more  searching  and  skilful  cross-examination.  One 
consequence  of  this  is,  that  the  public  are  called  upon  to  *  sup 
full  of  horrors'  twice  instead  of  once,  and  the  public  mind  is 
twice  poisoned  by  the  same  details  of  crime.  The  subject  is 
revived  after  it  has    been  well  nigh   forgotten,  and  all  the 


48  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

hideousness  of  vice  is  a  second  time  laid  bare.  Another  con- 
sequence of  this  extreme  publicity  is,  that  an  opportunity  is 
thus  offered  to  the  accomplices  or  friends  of  the  accused  to 
fabricate  false  evidence  to  meet  the  allegations  which  they 
know  will  be  made  against  him,  or  to  tamper  with  the  wit- 
nesses for  the  prosecution.  And  this  is  no  doubt  the  reason 
why  the  giving  to  a  prisoner  a  list  of  witnesses  before  the 
trial  has  been  called  '  a  mischievous  invention,  calculated  to 
defeat  the  ends  of  justice.'  But  we  are  bound  to  admit,  that 
experience  has  not  shown  that  there  is  in  the  disclosure  of 
evidence  before  trial  any  danger  which  need  excite  serious 
apprehension,  for  it  is  remarkable  how  seldom  in  this  country 
a  prisoner  ventures  to  adduce  evidence  in  his  defence — a  strong 
proof  that  in  the  great  majority  of  committals,  we  believe  an 
overwhelming  majority,  the  presumption  is  that  the  accused  is 
guilty.^ 

In  France  notice  must  be  given  twenty-four  hours  at  least 
before  the  trial,  both  by  the  ProatreiLr  General  to  the  prisoner 
and  by  the  prisoner  to  the  Procurcur  General,  of  the  names, 
occupations,  and  residences  of  the  witnesses  whom  they  re- 
spectively intend  to  call.  But  although  this  is  the  general 
rule,  the  French  law  takes  care  to  provide  for  unexpected 
emergencies,  and,  by  an  express  provision  of  the  Code  Criminel 
(art.  269),  the  president  at  the  trial  has  the  power  to  call  for 
any  evidence,  although  not  notified  beforehand,  which  he 
thinks  likely  to  be  of  use  in  throwing  light  upon  the  case. 
This  is  what  seems  to  be  required  in  the  Scotch  system,  to 
prevent  the  failure  of  justice,  which  must  necessarily  some- 
times happen,  when  witnesses  against  the  prisoner  come 
fonvard  too  late,  and  their  testimony  cannot  be  heard  because 
their  names  have  not  been  signified  to  him  fifteen  days  before- 
hand. For  clearly  there  ought  to  be  in  every  system  of  juris- 
prudence the  power  of  relaxing  a  rule  with  respect  to  the 
notification  of  witnesses  beforehand,  which,  if  rigidly  observed, 
must  often  paralyse  the  arm  of  justice,  and  allow  great  crimes 
to  escape  punishment.     We  happen  to  know  that,  in  the  case 

>   In  the  Report  of  the  Select  Com-  And  yet  in  Scotland  the  list  of  witnesses 

mittee    on    Public     Prosecutors    (May,  for  the  j^rosecution   is  always  given  to 

1856)  it  is  stated,  that  the  proportion  the    prisoner    fifteen   days    before   the 

of  convictions    to    acquittals    is    much  trial, 
greater  in  Scotland  than  in  England. 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  49 

of  Madeleine  Smith,  an  important  witness  was  thus  excluded, 
because  the  nature  of  his  evidence  was  not  known  early  enough 
for  the  legal  notice  to  be  given. 

In  England  the  indictment  (we  are  not  now  speaking  of 
criminal  informations  by  the  Attorney-General)  must  be  found 
by  a  Grand  Jury  ;  but  in  Scotland  there  is  no  such  body.  In 
England  the  charge  goes  before  the  grand  jury  engrossed  on 
parchment,  which  in  that  stage  is  called  a  bill  ;  and  it  is  not 
until  they  find  a  true  bill  that  it  is  called  an  indictment.  And 
in  cases  of  murder  or  manslaughter,  where  there  has  been  a 
coroner's  inquest  and  verdict  against  the  prisoner,  notwith- 
standing the  grand  jury  have  not  found  the  bill,  it  is  com- 
petent to  the  prosecutor  still  to  proceed  upon  the  coroner's 
inquisition,  and  have  the  prisoner  tried  upon  that.  But  this 
is  by  no  means  the  usual  course,  and  in  most  cases  the 
practice  is  to  take  a  verdict  of  acquittal  on  the  coroner's  in- 
quisition, where  the  grand  jury  have  not  found  a  bill  against 
the  prisoner. 

In  the  course  of  the  trial  of  Madeleine  Smith,  her  counsel, 
the  Dean  of  Faculty,  having  applied  for  the  warrant  which 
had  been  issued  for  recovery  of  the  documents  which  were 
put  in  evidence  on  the  part  of  the  prosecution,  the  Lord 
Advocate  said  that  he  had  been  anxious  that  every  facility 
should  be  given  for  the  defence,  but  the  prisoner  had  chosen 
to  ru)i  her  letters,  and  the  case  had  to  be  prepared  in  a  very 
short  time.  The  expression  '  rimning  her  letters'  is  probably 
wholly  unknown  to  our  English  readers,  and  it  may  be  useful 
to  give  some  explanation  of  it. 

When  an  accused  person  in  Scotland  is  committed  for  trial, 
he  has,  under  the  statute  of  Anne,  before  referred  to,  the  right 
to  take  out  letters  of  intimation  against  the  party  on  whose 
application  he  was  imprisoned,  and  against  the  Lord  Advo- 
cate. By  these  letters  he  requires  that  he  shall  be  brought  to 
trial  within  sixty  days  (the  period  prescribed  by  the  Act),  and 
that  if  that  be  not  done,  he  shall  be  set  at  liberty.  When 
these  letters  have  been  served  upon  the  Lord  Advocate,  he  is 
bound  not  only  to  execute  an  indictment  against  the  prisoner 
within  sixty  days  from  the  date  of  the  service,  but  by  a  pro- 
vision of  the  same  statute,  to  bring  the  trial  to  a  conclusion 
within  forty  days  afterwards.     If  the  indictment  is  not  served 

E 


50  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

upon  the  prisoner  before  the  expiration  of  the  sixty  days,  or 
the  trial  is  not  finished  at  the  expiration  of  the  hundred,  he 
must  be  instantly  set  at  liberty.  The  penalties  for  keeping 
him  in  prison  after  the  expiration  of  either  of  these  periods 
are  fixed  by  the  statute  at  certain  sums  for  each  day  of  the 
detention,  and  a  large  sum  is  given  by  way  of  damages  ; 
neither  of  which,  as  the  statute  expressly  declares,  can  be 
modified  by  any  power  or  authority  whatsoever.  The  power 
of  'running  letters'  therefore,  under  the  Act  of  1701,  insures 
a  prisoner  being  brought  to  trial,  if  he  so  wishes  it,  within  a 
fixed  period  after  his  commitment. 

In  England  there  is  no  limit  to  the  time  within  which  a 
crime  may  be  prosecuted  after  its  perpetration,  the  maxim 
being  that  nullmn  tonpiis  occurrit  rcgi.  In  1759  Home  was 
hanged  for  a  murder  committed  in  1724,  and  in  our  own 
recollection  a  trial  for  murder  took  place  twenty-four  years 
after  the  murder  was  alleged  to  have  been  committed.  But 
in  Scotland  it  is  held  that  the  lapse  of  twenty  years  from  the 
commission  of  an  offence  is  a  complete  bar  to  criminal  pro- 
ceedings.' It  would  seem  more  reasonable  to  make  the  period 
of  limitation  run,  not  from  the  perpetration  of  the  deed  but 
from  its  discovery,  for  it  is  hardly  possible  to  say  that  crime 
ought  to  go  unpunished  because  for  a  certain  length  of  time 
it  has  been  successfully  concealed.  In  the  second  case  to 
which  we  have  just  alluded,  and  which  was  a  very  remarkable 
one,  being  the  trial  of  the  alleged  murderer  of  a  murderer,  the 
trial  took  place  in  1830,  and  the  double  murder  had  been 
committed  in  1806,  but  the  remains  of  the  deceased  were  not 
discovered  until  the  end  of  1829. 

Another  material  point  of  difference  in  the  procedure  of 
the  two  countries  lies  in  the  indictment.  We  are  not  here 
alluding  to  mere  difference  in  its  form,  and  to  what  may 
be  called  its  technical  incidents,  but  to  the  substance  of  the 
matters  that  may  be  charged  in  it.  The  indictment  against 
Madeleine  Smith  contained  three  distinct  capital  charges,  on 
all  of  which  she  was  tried  at  one  and  the  same  time.    The  first 

'  Tlie  case  which  is  generally  cited  tence  of  fugitation  (or  outlawry)  passed 

as    an   authority   for    this    is    that    of  against  him.'      It  seems,    however,   to 

M'Gregor,  in  August,    1 773  ;  but  there  be  settled  law  in  Scotland  that  a  lapse 

the  prisoner's  discharge  was  directed,  '  in  of  twenty  years  is  a  bar  to  a  prosecu- 

respect  it  does  not  appear  that  any  sen-  tion. 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  51 

related  to  an  administration  of  poison  with  intent  to  murder 
the  deceased  on  February  19  or  20  ;  the  second  to  a  similar 
attempt  on  the  22nd  or  23rd  of  the  same  month ;  the  third  to 
the  actual  murder  of  the  deceased  on  March  22  or  23  follow- 
ing.    By  the  English  law  the  prisoner  could  not  have  been 
tried  on  more  than  one  of  these  charges  in  the  same  indict- 
ment.    They  referred  to  separate  offences  alleged  indeed  to 
have  been  committed  against  the  same  person,  but  differing  in 
time  and  place   and  circumstance  ;  and  they  could  not,   ac- 
cording to  the  English  practice,  have  been  included  together 
in  the  same  indictment.     But  practically  there  is  less  difference 
between   the  two  systems  in   this  respect  than  may  at  first 
sight  appear.     By  the  English  law  it  would  have  been  per- 
fectly competent  to  give  evidence  of  the  alleged  prior  attempts 
on  the  life  of  the  deceased,  on  an   indictment  charging  the 
prisoner  with  his  murder  on  March  22,  in  order  to  show  the 
probability  that  at  that  date  the  attempt  was  successfully  re- 
newed.   Where  the  conduct  of  an  accused  party  is  ambiguous, 
his  previous  acts  may  be  resorted   to  in  order  to  explain  it. 
Thus,  where  a  man  is  indicted   for  the  murder  of  another  by 
shooting  him  with  a  gun,  and  the  defence  set  up  is  that  the 
gun  went  off  by  accident,  it  may  be  proved  that  on  a  former 
occasion,  or  on  former  occasions,  the  prisoner  attempted  to 
kill  the  deceased.     But  this  is  allowed   merely  to  throw  light 
on  what  is  dark    or  equivocal,  and   is  only  relevant  to  prove 
malice  on  the  part  of  the  accused,  and  thus  to  supply  a  link 
in  the  chain  of  proof  which  might  otherwise  be  wanting  to 
show  the  intent.     In  Scotland,  however,  a  prisoner  may  be 
tried  at  one  and  the  same  time  on  several  charges  if  they  are 
connected  together  by  one  continuous  crime,  as  a  charge  of 
murder  with  robbery,  or  theft  with  forgery.     Indeed,  accord- 
ing to  the  theory  of  Scotch  law,  as   laid  down   by  the  best 
authorities,  a  prosecutor  is  allowed  to  include  in  the  same  in- 
dictment a  number  of  offences  which  have  no  connection  with 
each   other  ;  as  for  instance  treason,  cursing  of  parents,  and 
parricide  ;  and  the  objection  of  ciininlatio  crimmuvi  is  hardly 
tenable.     In  one  case,  that  of  Dickenson  and  others,  in  1726, 
the  prisoners  were  charged  with  a  murder  committed  in  1724, 
a  robbery  in  1726,  and   also   with  being  '  sorners,  Egyptians, 
and  masterful  beggars.'     In  another,  murder,  houghing  of  oxen 

E  2 


52  JiSSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

and  theft ;  and  in  another,  fornication  and  theft  have  been 
included  in  the  same  indictment.^  The  same  is  the  case  in 
France,  and  any  number  of  charges  of  the  most  dissimilar  kind 
may  be  included  in  the  same  acte  d' accusation.  Thus,  in  the 
memorable  case  of  Madame  Laffarge,  she  was  tried  not  only 
for  the  murder  of  her  husband,  but  also  on  the  same  indict- 
ment for  the  robbery  of  some  jewels.  It  is  impossible  to 
defend  such  a  mode  of  procedure.  It  is  a  monstrous  perver- 
sion of  justice  to  mix  up  incongruous  charges,  and  call  upon  a 
prisoner  to  defend  himself  against  them  all  at  the  same 
moment.  For  it  is  obvious  how  unfair  an  effect  the  minor 
accusation  may  have  upon  the  major,  by  prejudicing  the  minds 
of  the  jury,  and  inducing  them  to  come  to  the  illogical  con- 
clusion that  because  a  woman  may  have  stolen  diamonds  she 
is  therefore  likely  to  have  committed  murder ! 

Another  difference  between  the  Scotch  and  English  Courts 
in  the  conduct  of  a  trial,  is  the  order  in  which  the  speeches 
and  evidence  are  interchanged. 

In  England  the  evidence  is  always  preceded  by  an  open- 
ing speech  of  counsel,  who,  by  custom,  except  in  cases  where 
the  Crown  itself  is  not  only  nominally  but  actually  the  prose- 
cutor (as  where  one  of  the  law  officers  of  the  Crown  officially 
conducts  the  prosecution),  is  not  entitled  to  a  reply  unless  the 
counsel  for  the  prisoner  calls  witnesses  or  puts  in  evidence  for 
the  defence.  In  Scotland  the  evidence  for  the  prosecution  is 
given  first,  and  this  is  followed  by  the  evidence  for  the  defence. 
The  counsel  for  the  Crown  then  for  the  first  time  makes  a 
speech,  summing  up  the  evidence  on  both  sides,  and  the 
prisoner's  counsel  replies,  so  as  to  have  always  the  last  word 
with  the  jury,^  This  is  no  doubt  a  great  advantage  to  the 
accused,  and  perhaps  is  right,  but  it  seems  a  mistake  not  to 
open  the  case  with  a  statement.  The  jury  are  left  to  gather 
the  facts  solely  from  the  indictment,  and  this  affords  really 
no  information  as  to  the  history  of  the  case,  which  may  be  of 
the  most  complex  character.  They  must  therefore  be  often 
lost  in  the  labyrinth  of  details,  without  the  clue  which  they 

'  The    Court,     however,     has    the  prisoner  in  his  defence, 
power  to  divide  the  indictment  or  libel,  ^  The  counsel    on  either  side  may 
and  try  at  one  time  only  such  charges  open    by  a   speech  if  they   choose,  al- 
as   it    thinks    will    not    embarrass   the  though  in  practice  it  is  rarely  done. 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  53 

would  have  held   if  they  had  been  instructed  by  the  opening 
speech  of  counsel. 

Every  reader  of  Demosthenes  and  the  other  Greek  orators 
knows  that  it  was  the  custom  of  Athens  to  mingle  the  speech 
of  the  prosecutor  and  evidence  together  ;  and  the  speaker 
constantly  paused  in  his  oration  to  direct  the  officer  of  the 
court  to  read  such  and  such  a  document  in  evidence,  or  to 
call  for  the  testimony  of  witnesses. 

It  can  hardly  be  objected  that  by  the  English  system 
there  is  more  chance  of  a  jury  being  misled  than  by  the 
Scotch  ;  for  there  is  in  reality  as  much  scope  for  mis-state- 
ment or  exaggeration  in  summing  up  evidence  as  in  stating 
it  beforehand.  And  in  nothing  perhaps  is  a  prosecuting 
counsel  in  England  more  cautious  than  in  not  making  any 
statements  to  the  jury  the  truth  of  which  he  thinks  may  pos- 
sibly not  be  established.  Indeed,  the  humane  spirit  in  which 
English  trials  are  conducted,  is  remarkably  shown  in  the  fair- 
ness and  moderation  with  which  the  counsel  for  the  prosecu- 
tion opens  the  case  against  the  prisoner.  The  tone  of  his 
speech  is  almost  judicial  ;  avoiding  all  exaggeration,  caution- 
ing the  jury  against  being  influenced  by  anything  except  the 
evidence  before  them,  and  impressing  upon  them  the  duty  of 
giving  the  prisoner  the  benefit  of  any  reasonable  doubt.  The 
course  adopted  in  France  presents  an  amazing  contrast  to 
this  ;  and  we  can  only  wonder,  when  we  read  the  speech  of  a 
Prociirair  du  Roi,  or  de  la  Rcpitbliquc,  or  Imperial  against  the 
accused,  full  of  impassioned  oratory,  and  inflaming  the  charge 
against  him  with  all  the  artifice  of  rhetoric. 

But  the  French  lawyers  may  plead  illustrious  precedents 
for  this.  They  may  appeal  to  the  great  orators  of  antiquity, 
who  indulged  in  bitter  invective  when  they  conducted,  as  we 
should  call  it,  a  prosecution  ;  and  of  this  the  speech  of  Cicero 
against  Piso  is  a  conspicuous  example.  Nor  could  anything 
exceed  the  vehemence  of  attack  with  which  Burke  and  Sheri- 
dan, as  managers  of  the  impeachment  against  Warren  Hast- 
ings, assailed  him  in  Westminster  Hall.  But  they  were  not 
lawyers,  and  the  whole  proceeding  had  more  the  character  of 
a  political  and  party  struggle  than  a  judicial  inquiry. 

But  a  much  more  important  difierence  exists  between  the 
systems  of  Scotland  and  England  in  the  application  of  the 


54  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

law  of  evidence.  On  the  trial  of  Madeleine  Smith,  declara- 
tions made  by  the  deceased  at  two  different  periods  in  Feb- 
ruary, when  he  was  suffering  from  illness  from  which  he 
recovered,  to  the  effect  that  his  illness  was  consequent  on  his 
taking  something  which  the  prisoner  had  given  him  to  drink, 
were  admitted  in  evidence  against  her  without  any  opposition 
on  the  part  of  her  counsel.^  These  statements,  if  understood 
in  the  sense  intended  by  the  prosecutor,  were  of  tremendous  sig- 
nificance, and  must  have  weighed  heavily  against  the  prisoner. 
If  they  had  been  excluded,  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that 
the  verdict  must  have  been  Not  Guilty,  for  without  them  the 
case  against  her  would  have  resolved  itself  into  this  : — She 
was  proved  to  have  purchased  arsenic  on  three  occasions,  and 
on  the  hypothesis  of  the  exclusion  of  L'Angelier's  declara- 
tions in  February,  there  would  have  been  no  evidence  what- 
ever to  connect  him  in  any  way  with  the  use  made  of  the 
poison  on  either  of  the  first  two  of  these.  Two  days  after 
the  third  purchase,  she  made  an  appointment  to  meet  the 
deceased,  which,  owing  to  an  accident,  he  failed  to  keep. 
The  appointment  was  renewed  for  another  night  (Saturday, 
the  2ist  of  March),  and  this  again,  owing  to  his  absence  from 
Glasgow,  he  failed  to  keep.  On  the  following  night  he  is 
proved  to  have  gone  from  home  as  if  to  obtain  an  interview 
with  the  prisoner,  but  there  was  an  utter  absence  of  proof 
that  they  did  meet  on  that  occasion  ;  and  at  two  A.M.  of  that 
night  he  was  found  at  the  door  of  his  lodgings  suffering  from 
the  effects  of  arsenic,  of  which  he  died  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  without  hinting  in  the  remotest  manner  that  he  had  seen 
the  prisoner  or  received  anything  whatever  from  her.  In  this 
state  of  facts,  the  links  which  could  connect  the  prisoner  with 
his  death  would  have  been  too  glaringly  wanting  to  justify 
even  a  verdict  of  Not  Proven.  The  case,  however,  assumed 
a  different  aspect  when  evidence  was  given,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  show  that  on  two  previous  occasions  she  had 
made  attempts  by  poison  on  her  lover's  life.  If  the  jury 
were  satisfied  of  tJiat,  their  minds  would  inevitably  be  pre- 

'  It   must,    however,    be   borne   in  fore   the   murder,   and  could  not  have 

mind    that  this  evidence  was   admitted  been  included  in   an  indictment  charg- 

on    an    indictment   y'hich    charged    the  ing  the  murder  according  to  the  English 

attempt  as  well  as  the  actual  murder.  law. 
Bui  the  attempt  was  at  a  time  long  be- 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  55 

disposed  to  think  that  she  would  not  scruple  to  make  a  third 
attempt,  provided  only  she  had  the  opportunity,  and  the  only 
questions  then  would  be — was  the  opportunity  given  ?  and 
were  the  attending  circumstances  such  as  to  lead  to  a  reason- 
able belief  that  she  availed  herself  of  it  for  that  purpose  ? 

By  the  English  law,  the  above  evidence  was  wholly  inad- 
missible, and  no  lawyer  would  have  attempted  to  tender 
it  in  a  court  of  justice.  True  it  is,  that  the  declaration  of  a 
deceased  person  having  reference  to  the  cause  of  his  death,  and 
uttered  under  a  consciousness  or  apprehension  of  approaching 
dissolution,  is  received  in  evidence.  But  in  the  case  in 
question,  both  these  requisites  of  admissibility  were  wanting. 
The  statements  had  reference  to  two  alleged  attempts  upon 
his  life  from  which  he  had  recovered.  They  were  in  no  sense 
the  cause  of  his  death,  and  they  were  separated  by  an  inter- 
val of  at  least  a  month  from  that  event.  But  what  is  of  still 
more  importance,  they  were  made  at  times  when  the  deceased 
was  under  no  apprehension  of  death,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  distinguish  them  from  any  other  declaration  he  might  have 
made  affecting  the  prisoner  at  any  period  of  his  life. 

The  admission  of  dying  declarations  at  all  as  evidence, 
is  a  relaxation  of  the  rule  that  no  hearsay  evidence  can  be 
received.  For  such  a  statement  is  made  in  the  absence  of 
the  accused  behind  his  back,  and  there  is  no  opportunity  at 
the  trial  of  cross-examining  the  party  who  has  made  it,  inas- 
much as  by  the  hypothesis  he  is  then  dead.  But  the  Scotch 
law  goes  further  than  the  English,  and  where  a  person  who 
has  been  injured  by  a  crime  is  dead,  it  allows  evidence  to  be 
given  by  third  parties  of  what  he  has  said  with  regard  to  the 
subject-matter  of  the  trial,  although  the  statement  may  have 
been  made  at  a  time  when  he  was  in  perfect  health,  and  in  no 
fear  of  death.  We  confess  we  are  unable  to  see  how  this  can 
be  justified  on  any  principle  which  would  not  equally  admit 
evidence  of  statements  made  by  anybody  who  happens  to  die 
before  the  trial,  although  not  the  party  injured.  And  yet 
such  statements  are  by  the  law  of  Scotland  equally,  as  by  the 
law  of  England,  excluded. 

There  is  perhaps  no  part  of  the  Criminal  Law  of  Scot- 
land which  has  attracted  more  attention  in  England  than  tlie 
verdict  of  Not  Proven,  corresponding  to  the  A^on  Liquet  of 


56  JSSSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  Roman  law.  And  there  are  not  wanting  those  who  advo- 
cate the  introduction  of  it  into  the  EngHsh  Courts  ;  nor  are 
they  without  plausible  arguments  in  its  favour.  We  will 
therefore  say  a  few  words  on  the  subject,  and  endeavour  to 
show  that  such  a  verdict  is  on  several  grounds  objectionable. 
But  first  as  to  its  origin. 

The  old  form  of  Scotch  verdict  for  '  guilty'  was  fyht, 
culpable,  or  convict ;  and  for  '  not  guilty,'  was  clean,  or  free, 
and  sometimes  innocent.  And  this  verdict  continued  to  be 
given  until  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It 
was,  however,  found  that  the  jury  sometimes  took  the  law 
into  their  own  hands,  and  acquitted  the  prisoner,  not  because 
the  evidence  was  insufficient,  but  because  they  chose  to  con- 
sider that  the  crime  charged  in  the  indictment  did  not  amount 
to  a  legal  offence.  It  became,  therefore,  the  practice  in  draw- 
ing the  indictment  to  set  out  all  the  facts  with  circumstantial 
minuteness,  and  the  Court  then,  in  the  first  instance,  pro- 
nounced an  interlocutor  as  to  its  relevancy,  that  is,  its  suffi- 
ciency in  point  of  law,  if  proved  in  fact,  to  justify  the  con- 
clusion that  a  legal  offence  had  been  committed.  They 
afterwards,  if  the  relevancy  was  sustained,  referred  it  to  the 
'  knowledge  of  the  judge,'  to  determine  the  facts,  and  find 
them  '  proven,'  or  '  not  proven  in  the  terms  of  the  lords  their 
interlocutor.'  And  they  soon  went  a  step  further;  for  not 
content  with  allowing  the  jury  to  find  as  the  result  of  the 
whole  evidence  a  verdict  of  '  proven,'  or  '  not  proven,' — when 
the  Court  suspected  that  the  jury  might  scruple  to  find  in 
general  terms  the  crime  charged  to  be  proven,  it  required  them 
to  return  a  special  verdict,  finding  proved  a  long  chain  of 
circumstances,  and  leaving  it  to  the  judges  to  determine 
whether,,  by  inference,  these  did  or  did  not  establish  the  crime 
charged  in  the  indictment.  It  is  needless  to  say,  that  this 
was  to  usurp  in  a  great  measure  the  prerogative  of  the  jury. 
For  in  criminal  cases  it  is  its  especial  province  to  draw  infer- 
ences, not  indeed  of  law,  but  of  fact,  from  other  facts  ;  and 
very  often  the  whole  question  of  guilty  or  not  guilty  depends 
upon  the  inference  to  be  drawn  from  particular  circumstances. 
For  instance,  the  inference  of  intention,  which  makes  all  the  dif- 
ference between  murder  or  manslaughter,  or  accidental  death. 
To  show  to  what   a  length  this  was  carried,  we  may  mention 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  57 

the  case  of  Marion  Lawson,  who  was  tried  for  child  murder 
in  1662.  The  jury  found  her  to  be  cleared  a7id  not  guilty  in 
respect  of  no  probation  ;  but  in  respect  of  the  presumptions, 
remitted  the  prisoner  to  the  consideration  of  the  Court,  and 
the  Court  sentenced  her  to  be  whipped  through  the  High 
Street  of  Edinburgh,  and  banished,  for  an  offence  of  which, 
in  the  opinion  and  by  the  verdict  of  the  jury,  she  was  not 
proved  to  be  guilty !  Thus  the  verdict  of  '  proven  '  and  '  not 
proven,'  took  the  place  of  the  old  forms,  and  they  continued 
until  the  trial  of  Samuel  Hales,  in  1726,  when  the  jury,  for 
the  first  time  we  believe  since  the  commencement  of  the  new 
practice,  returned  a  verdict  of  '  not  guilty.'  And  two  years 
afterwards,  the  case  of  Carnegie  of  Finhaven  occurred,  who 
was  tried  for  the  murder  of  the  Earl  of  Strathmore,  w^hen,  in 
opposition  to  the  opinion  of  the  Court,  the  jury  thought  that 
the  panel  was  not  guilty  of  murder,  and  they,  '  therefore,' 
says  Baron  Hume,  '  asserted  their  ancient  and  undoubted  pri- 
vilege of  finding  a  general  verdict  of  '  not  guilty,  which  the 
Court  could  neither  decline  to  receive,  nor  anywise  question 
as  to  the  grounds  and  reasons  on  which  it  proceeded.'  The 
legal  effect  of  a  verdict  of  '  not  proven,'  is  the  same  as  that  of 
'  not  guilty ; '  for  the  accused  cannot  be  tried  a  second  time. 

The  popular  objection  to  the  verdict  of  Not  Guilty,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  Not  Proven,  is  that  it  seems  sometimes  to  do 
violence  to  the  consciences  of  jurymen,  who,  as  is  alleged, 
must  be  not  unfrequently  morally  satisfied  of  the  prisoner's 
guilt,  or,  at  all  events,  not  satisfied  of  his  innocence  ;  and  yet, 
owing  to  a  defect  of  legal  evidence,  or  to  some  technical 
quibble,  are  compelled  to  declare  that  they  do  not  believe  he 
has  committed  the  offence  for  which  he  is  tried.  But  this  is 
a  mistake  ;  for  by  the  verdict  of  Not  Guilty,  the  jury  do  not 
necessarily  assert  that  they  believe  the  prisoner  to  be  innocent 
of  the  crime  imputed  to  him.  It  does  not  in  itself  imply  more 
than  that  the  legal  evidence  is  not  sufficient  to  produce  that 
degree  of  certainty  which  would  justify,  or  render  safe,  a  con- 
viction. And  a  proof  of  this  is  furnished  by  the  fact  that  the 
verdict  is  returned  in  cases  where  the  guilt  of  the  accused  is 
established,  but  owing  to  some  technical  difficulty  or  mistake, 
the  jury  are  directed  to  acquit.  They  do  not  thereby  say  that 
he  has  not   committed   the  crime,   but  merely  that   it  is  not 


58  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

legally  proved  that  he  has.  There  is,  therefore,  nothing  in  the 
verdict  which  need  alarm  the  most  scrupulous  conscience  ;  for 
it  may  be,  and  indeed  ought  to  be,  given  whenever  a  juror  is 
not  fully  and  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt  satisfied  by  legal 
evidence  of  the  guilt  of  the  accused.  And  we  must  remember 
that  the  law  presumes  every  man  to  be  innocent  who  is  not 
proved  to  be  guilty ;  so  that  the  jury  do  no  more  than  their 
strict  duty  when  they  declare  him  to  be  not  guilty  whom  the 
evidence  falls  short  of  convicting,  however  dark  and  unfavour- 
able may  be  their  suspicions  respecting  him. 

Such,  then,  being  the  case  with  respect  to  the  verdict  of 
Not  Guilty,  it  is  not  difficult  to  show  that  there  are  graver  ob- 
jections against  that  of  Not  Proven.  It  is  in  fact  what  Sir 
Walter  Scott  called  it,  '  a  bastard  verdict'  It  enables  jurors 
to  effect  a  sort  of  compromise  between  their  duty  to  give  a 
true  verdict  '  according  to  the  evidence,'  and  their  inclination 
to  escape  the  necessity  of  coming  to  a  definite  conclusion  upon 
doubtful  facts.  There  must  be  always  a  strong  temptation  to 
adopt  it  where  there  is  much  suspicion,  but  a  deficiency  of 
legal  proof.  But  is  this  fair  towards  the  accused  .''  Surely  if 
the  evidence  does  not  establish  the  charge  against  him,  he  is 
entitled  to  an  absolute  acquittal.  But  although  the  verdict  of 
Not  Proven  is  so  far  tantamount  to  an  acquittal,  that  the  party 
cannot  be  tried  a  second  time,  it  falls  very  far  short  of  it  with 
regard  to  the  effect  upon  his  reputation  and  character.  He 
goes  away  from  the  bar  of  the  Court  with  an  indelible  stigma 
upon  his  fame,  when  there  stands  recorded  against  him  the 
opinion  of  a  jury,  that  the  evidence  respecting  his  guilt  was  so 
strong  that  they  did  not  dare  to  pronounce  a  verdict  of 
acquittal.  But  where  the  evidence  falls  short  of/rt*^/"  of  guilt, 
the  prisoner  is  entitled  to  a  verdict  of  Not  Guilty  ;  for  the  law 
has  failed  to  prove  him  guilty,  and  by  the  law  alone  is  he  to 
be  acquitted  or  condemned. 

We  had  intended  to  discuss  at  some  length  the  question 
of  the  unanimity  of  the  jury,  the  requirement  of  which  Mr. 
Hallam  calls  a  '  preposterous  relic  of  barbarism  ; '  but  we  have 
only  space  for  a  few  concluding  remarks. 

In  Scotland  the  jury  or  assize  in  criminal  trials  consist  of 
fifteen,  and  decide  by  a  majority.  In  England  the  verdict 
must  be  unanimous.    In  France,  between  1791,  when  the  jury 


CRIMINAL  PROCEDURE.  59 

system  was  first  introduced  there,  and  1848,  a  period  of  fifty- 
seven  years,  the  law  respecting  verdicts  by  a  majority  in 
criminal  cases  was  changed  no  less  than  twelve  times !  At 
first  (Decret  16  et  29  Sept.  1791,  C.  Brum,  an  4.  art.  403)  ten 
votes  were  required  for  a  verdict  of  Guilty.  Under  the  Re- 
volutionary Tribunal  the  number  of  the  jury  was  reduced  to 
eleven,  then  to  nine,  and  afterwards  to  seven,  and  it  was 
necessary  that  there  should  be  a  majority  for  a  verdict,  either 
of  Guilty  or  Not  Guilty.  The  Directory  required  the  verdict 
to  be  unanimous  in  either  case.  Other  changes  took  place  at 
different  periods  ;  and  under  the  Republic  that  followed  the 
revolution  of  February,  1848,  the  majority  was  required  to  be 
nine.  This,  however,  was  found  to  lead  to  an  alarming  number 
of  acquittals,  and  finally  the  law  of  the  9th  of  June,  1853,  estab- 
lished the  rule  of  a  simple  majority  for  a  verdict  of  Guilty, 
which  continues  up  to  the  present  time. 

We  must  here  content  ourselves  with  expressing  our 
opinion,  that  the  rule  of  unanimity  ought  to  be  relaxed  in 
civil  and  retained  in  criminal  cases.  As  regards  the  former,  a 
change  was  strongly  recommended  by  the  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed in  1830  to  report  upon  the  Courts  of  Common  Law. 
They  said,  '  It  is  essential  to  the  validity  of  a  verdict  that  the 
jury  should  be  unanimous  ;  and  regularly  they  are  not  allowed 
to  be  discharged  (unless  by  consent  of  the  parties)  until  such 
unanimous  verdict  has  been  returned.  It  is  difficult  to  defend 
the  justice  or  wisdom  of  the  latter  principle.  It  seems  absurd 
that  the  rights  of  a  party  on  questions  of  a  doubtful  and  com- 
plicated nature  should  depend  upon  his  being  able  to  satisfy 
twelve  persons  that  one  particular  state  of  facts  is  the  true 
one.  .  .  .  And  the  interests  of  justice  seem  manifestly  to 
require  a  change  of  laiv  upon  this  subject! 

This  was  the  declared  opinion  of  the  Commissioners,  pub- 
lished many  years  ago,  and  yet  no  change  has  been  made  in 
the  rule  that  requires  twelve  men  all  to  agree  upon  a  disputed 
fact,  or  leaves  the  fact  for  ever  judicially  undecided.  Surely 
the  time  has  come  when  such  an  absurdity  should  no  longer 
be  permitted  to  continue,  and  when  the  law  of  the  majority, 
which  prevails  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  in  every  other  assemblage  of  men  who  meet  to  de- 
liberate and  determine,  should  be  allowed  to  prevail  in  the  jury- 


6o  £SSAVS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

box  in  civil  cases.  But  we  do  not  wish  to  see  the  English  rule 
changed  in  criminal  trials,  for  here  different  considerations 
apply.  We  have  not  space  to  discuss  the  question  here,  but 
we  may  shortly  state  that  what  chiefly  weighs  with  us  in  adopt- 
ing this  conclusion,  is,  that  the  fact  of  a  dissentient  minority 
in  a  verdict  of  Guilty  must  often  tend  to  paralyse  the  arm  of 
justice,  and  produce  a  sort  of  compromise  in  the  infliction  of 
punishment,  which  cannot  be  justified  on  any  ground  of  prin- 
ciple. We  doubt  whether  in  England  it  would  be  possible  to 
hang  a  prisoner  for  murder  when  the  jury  found  him  Guilty 
only  by  a  majority.  And  yet,  on  what  principle  could  a  lesser 
punishment  be  inflicted  .-*  If  the  Executive  is  satisfied  that  the 
verdict  is  right,  the  law  (except  so  far  as  viercy  may  intervene) 
ought  to  take  its  course.  If  it  doubts  because  the  jury  dif- 
ferred  in  opinion,  and  therefore  remits  the  penalty  of  death, 
surely  it  has  no  right  to  consign  a  man  to  hopeless  slavery  for 
life,  when  it  did  not  dare  to  hang  him  because  it  doubted 
whether  he  was  guilty  at  all.  But  however  opinions  may  differ 
as  to  the  expediency  of  the  rule  which  requires  unanimity  in 
the  jury,  either  in  civil  or  criminal  trials,  there  surely  can  be 
none  as  to  the  absurdity  of  that  which  prohibits  them  from 
receiving  any  kind  of  refreshment  while  they  are  considering 
their  verdict.  They  must  agree  or  starve,  not  exactly  to  death, 
but  up  to  a  considerable  amount  of  endurance  of  physical  ex- 
haustion. This  undoubtedly  is  a  '  preposterous  relic  of  bar- 
barism ; '  and  the  only  wonder  is  that  it  should  have  remained 
to  the  present  day,  and  be  tolerated  in  times  when  mere  anti- 
quity is  allowed  to  be  a  very  insufficient  plea  for  the  continu- 
ance of  an  abuse. 


6i 


THE   KINGDOM  OF  ITALY} 

'  Quarterly  Review,'  January,  1861. 

Little  did  the  French  Emperor  foresee  or  intend  the  re- 
sults that  have  followed  from  his  armed  interference  in  Italy. 
Little  did  he  know  the  direction  the  waters  would  take  when 
he  determined  to  unsluice  the  stagnant  lake,  and  fancied  that 
he  could  channel  out  the  course  in  which  the  waters  were  to 
flow.  Whatever  he  may  have  meant  by  his  watchword  of 
*  Italy  free  from  the  Alps  to  the  Adriatic  ;'  whether  it  did  or 
did  not  include,  along  with  the  expulsion  of  the  Austrians 
from  Lombardy  and  Venice,  a  throne  in  Italy  for  his  cousin 
Prince  Napoleon,  as  well  as  the  realization  of  the  'idea'  for 
which,  while  solemnly  disavowing  all  thoughts  of  territorial 
aggrandisement,  France  made  war,^ — namely,  that  Savoy  and 
Nice  should  be  torn  from  Italy  and  become  incorporated  with 
France, —  it  is  plain  that  the  pohcy  of  Napoleon  III.  has  been 
to  a  great  extent  disconcerted  and  baffled  by  the  course  of 
events.  There  is,  however,  another  monarch  who  has  known 
well  how  to  turn  them  to  his  own  advantage,  who  has  reaped 
where  others  have  sown,  and  has  himself  known  right  well 
how  to  sow  unobserved,  and  who — aided  by  ministers  w^hose 
far-seeing  sagacity  we  acknowledge,  however  much  we  must 
condemn  the  means  they  have  employed — has  from  first  to 
last  shown  that  those  events  have  not  taken  him  by  surprise, 
and  that  he  has  led  rather  than  followed  in  their  path. 

From  the  time  when,  without  any  imaginable  cause  of  war, 

'   I.  Correspondence  relating    to    the  3.    The   Congress  and  the   Cabinet. 

Affairs   of  Italy.     Presented   to    both  By  the    Marquis  of  Normanby,  K.G. 

Houses  of  ParUament  by  Command  of  London,  1859. 

Her  Majesty,      i860.  4.   Le  Pape  et  le  Congrh.     Paris, 

2.    Correspondence     relating    to    the  1 859. 

Affairs,  of  Italy,  Savoy,  and  Switzerland.  5.   A      Century     of    Despotism    in 

Presented  to    both    Houses   of  Parlia-  Naples  and  Sicily.     By  Susan  Horner, 

ment  by   Command   of  Her   Majesty.  Edinburgh,  i860. 
i860. 


62  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

King  Victor  Emmanuel  engaged  the  little  kingdom  of  Sardinia 
by  the  side  of  the  Western  Powers  in  the  struggle  against 
Russia  in  the  Crimea,  down  to  the  present  moment,  when  he 
has  added  to  his  dominions  the  territory,  or  parts  of  the 
territory,  of  six  independent  States,  he  has  steadily  worked 
out  one  idea,  and  that  has  been,  the  Unity  of  Italy  with  the 
House  of  Savoy  upon  the  throne.  And  this,  now  that  success 
has  so  far  crowned  his  efforts,  he  openly  avows  ;  for  in  the 
manifesto  which  he  addressed  from  Ancona  on  the  9th  of 
October  last  to  the  people  of  Southern  Italy,  he  declared, 
'  I  have  thus  been  able  to  maintain  in  that  part  of  Italy 
which  is  united  under  my  sceptre  the  idea  of  a  national 
hegemony,  out  of  which  was  to  arise  the  harmonious  concord 
of  divided  provinces  united  in  one  nation.  Italy  was  put  in 
possession  of  my  view  when  it  beheld  me  sending  my  troops 
to  the  Crimea  by  the  side  of  the  soldiers  of  the  two  great 
Western  Powers.  I  desired  to  obtain  for  Italy  the  right  of 
taking  part  in  all  transactions  of  European  interest.' 

There  are  two  views  of  the  astounding  drama  that  has  been 
acted  in  Italy ;  each  of  which  has  its  advocates,  but  in  neither 
of  which  can  we  wholly  acquiesce.  The  one  sees  in  the 
dazzling  series  of  events  nothing  but  the  triumph  of  liberty 
over  oppression  ;  and,  on  the  principle  that  the  end  justifies 
the  means,  exults  with  unalloyed  delight  in  the  idea  of  a 
national  regeneration.  The  other  sees  in  them  nothing  but 
the  reckless  ambition  of  an  unscrupulous  sovereign,  the 
triumph  of  insurrection,  and  the  daring  contempt  of  interna- 
tional law.  In  this  country,  as  might  be  expected,  the  first  or 
the  Italian  view  is,  beyond  all  doubt  or  question,  the  popular 
one.  It  has  been  adopted  with  remarkable  unanimity  by  the 
press  ;  and  while  all  rejoice  in  the  result,  few  have  cared  to 
find  fault  with  the  acts  that  have  been  successful.  Nor  need 
we  be  surprised  at  this  :  it  is  natural  that  Englishmen  should 
sympathize  with  a  struggle  for  freedom,  and  rejoice  in  the 
prospect  of  a  strong  constitutional  government  in  Italy  in  the 
place  of  effete  despotism  like  that  of  Naples,  or  ecclesiastical 
misrule  like  that  of  Rome.  It  is  natural  that  the  Protestant 
feeling  of  the  nation  should  view  without  displeasure  the 
humiliation  of  the  Pope,  and  the  diminution,  if  not  the 
destruction,  of  his  temporal  power.     And  there  was  something 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  63 

in  the  character  of  Garibaldi,  and  in  the  nature  of  his  enterprise, 
which  seemed  to  realize  the  wonders  of  romance,  and  to  justify- 
that  hero-worship  which  always  has  been  and  always  will  be 
one  of  the  darling  passions  of  the  multitude.  The  feeling 
was  that  which  warmed  the  head  and  fired  the  imagination  of 
Macchiavelli,  when  he  almost  prophesied  the  advent  of  such  a 
deliverer,  and  exclaimed,  '  I  cannot  express  with  what  love 
he  would  be  received  in  all  the  provinces  which  have  suffered 
from  these  foreign  inundations  ;  with  what  a  thirst  for  ven- 
geance, with  what  stedfast  fidelity,  with  what  affection,  with 
what  tears !  What  gates  would  close  themselves  against  him  ? 
What  people  would  refuse  him  their  obedience  ?  What  envy 
would  oppose  itself  to  him  ?  What  Italian  would  deny  him 
homage  ?     A  ognuno  ptizza  qucsto  barbaro  dominio!  ' 

'  Italy  for  the  Italians '  is  a  captivating  cry.  It  seems  to 
express  the  sentiment  of  liberty  with  the  force  of  a  truism ; 
and  men  forget  that  its  true  meaning  is  the  expulsion  of  the 
foreigner,  that  'barbaro  dominio'  of  which  Macchiavelli 
speaks ;  and  can  be  no  argument  to  justify  insurrection  against 
Italian  governments,  or  the  overthrow  of  Italian  dynasties. 
We  do  not  say  that  they  cannot  be  justified  ;  but  this  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  admitting  the  right  of  one  independent 
State  to  interfere  and  foment  insurrection  in  the  dominions  of 
another,  of  which  it  intends  to  reap  the  fruits  and  carry  off  the 
lion's  share  of  the  spoil.  The  cry  of  '  Germany  for  the 
Germans'  would  hardly  be  allowed  as  a  pretext  for  the 
invasion  of  Saxony  or  Bavaria  by  Prussia,  although  we  find  it 
employed  as  an  apology  for  the  attempts  that  are  made  to 
deprive  Denmark  of  her  provinces,  the  Duchies  of  Schleswig 
and  Holstein,  because  they  are  said  by  community  of  origin 
and  sameness  of  language  to  belong  to  the  Great  Fatherland. 
Men  forget  also,  that  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  (if 
even  before  it)  there  never  has  been  a  time  when  Italy  could 
be  called  a  nation,  any  more  than  a  stack  of  timber  can 
be  called  a  ship.  During  the  middle  ages  the  little  Republics 
into  which  it  was  split  up  fought  like  tiger-cats  against  each 
other;  and  for  the  last  three  hundred  years,  with  the  exception 
of  the  period  of  the  French  Revolution,  when  all  landmarks 
were   effaced,     the     circumscription    of    territories,    and    the 

'  II  Piincipe,  cap.  25. 


64  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

distinction  of  governments,  have  been  as  complete  in  Italy  as 
in  any  other  part  of  Europe. 

By  the  Treaty  of  Villafranca,  which  was  definitely  signed 
at  Zurich  on  the  nth  of  November,  1859,  ^-^^d  to  which 
Sardinia  was  forced  to  become  a  party,  Lombardy  was  under 
one  instrument  ceded  to  France,  and,  under  another,  by 
France  to  Sardinia.  Thus  a  blow  was  struck  at  the  European 
settlement  of  181 5,  which  France  has  so  long  desired  to 
subvert.  France,  too,  in  receiving  directly  from  Austria  the 
cession  of  Lombardy,  conceived  herself  to  have  acquired, 
as  against  Austria,  the  right  to  interfere  at  all  times  to  protect 
the  Sardinian  possession  of  that  territory.  It  was  also  agreed 
separately  between  France  and  Austria  that  they  would  make 
every  effort  to  encourage  a  Confederation  amongst  the  Italian 
States,  to  be  placed  under  the  honorary  presidency  of  the 
Pope.  And  the  rights  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  the 
Duke  of  Modena,  and  the  Duke  of  Parma  were  reserved,  on 
the  alleged  ground  that  the  territorial  delimitation  of  the  in- 
dependent States  of  Italy  which  took  no  part  in  the  war  could 
be  changed  only  by  the  Powers  who  presided  at  their 
formation  and  recognized  their  existence.  It  was  then  pro- 
posed by  France  and  Austria  that  a  Congress  should  assemble 
to  take  into  consideration  the  pacification  of  Central  Italy ; 
but  it  never  met.  It  was  found  impracticable  to  get  the 
Great  Powers  to  agree  on  a  common  basis  of  action.  Austria 
insisted  on  the  restoration  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  and 
the  Duke  of  Modena.  France  could  not  oppose  herself  to 
this ;  and  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  French 
Emperor,  in  all  sincerity  and  good  faith,  made  every  effort  to 
give  effect  to  the  stipulation  in  favour  of  the  dethroned 
princes.  But  England  steadily  and  firmly  adhered  to  the 
principle  that  the  inhabitants  of  Tuscany  and  the  y^milia ' 
were  to  be  left  entirely  to  themselves,  to  choose  their  own 
form  of  Government,  and  settle,  as  they  thought  fit,  the 
question  whether  they  would  annex  themselves  to  Piedmont, 
or   form  an  independent  State.     So  early  as  the  month  of 

'  The    Emilia    or    Emilia    is    the  It    derives    its    name    from    the     Via 

name  given  to   the  triangular    tract   of  Emilia,     which    ran     from     Piacenza 

country,  between  the  Po  and  the  Apen-  beyond    the  northern    extremity  of  the 

nines,  which   embraces  the  Duchies  of  Apennine  range  as  far  as  Rimini,  where 

Parma,    Modena,    and    the    Romagiia.  it  joined  the  Via  Flamiiiia. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  65 

August  1859,  the  Tuscan  assembly  at  Florence  had  voted 
unanimously,  or  we  believe  with  only  three  exceptions,  in 
favour  of  annexation  to  Piedmont ;  and  in  September  follow- 
ing, the  revolted  province  of  the  Romagna,  having  convoked 
a  general  assembly  of  representatives  at  Bologna,  declared 
that  '  the  people  of  Romagna  refuse  to  live  any  longer  under 
the  temporal  sway  of  the  Pontiff.'  With  regard  to  the 
Romagna  and  the  Legations,  which  had  made  common  cause 
in  throwing  off  the  allegiance  of  the  Pope,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered as  one  province,  the  French  Emperor  was  under  no 
engagement  to  Austria,  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  he  had 
satisfied  himself  that  it  was  vain  to  dream  of  coercing  them  : 
he  therefore  strove  to  induce  the  Holy  See  to  make  a  virtue 
of  necessity,  and  on  the  31st  of  December  wrote  that  remark- 
able letter  to  the  Pope,  in  which  he  said, — 

After  a  serious  examination  of  the  difficulties  and  the  dangers  which  the 
different  combinations  presented — I  say  it  with  sincere  regret,  and  however 
painful  the  solution  may  be — what  seems  to  me  most  in  accordance  with  the  true 
interests  of  the  Holy  See  would  be  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  the  revolted  provinces. 
If  the  Holy  Father,  for  the  repose  of  Europe,  were  to  renounce  those  provinces 
which  for  the  last  fifty  years  have  caused  so  much  embarrassment  to  his  govern- 
ment, and  were  in  exchange  to  demand  from  the  powers  that  they  should  guarantee 
him  possession  of  the  remainder,  I  do  not  doubt  of  the  immediate  restoration  of 
order.  Then  the  Holy  Father  would  assure  to  grateful  Italy  peace  during 
long  years,  and  to  the  Holy  See  the  peaceful  possession  of  the  States  of  the 
Church. 

In  the  meantime  Central  Italy  remained  without  a  Govern- 
ment, except  such  as  it  had  extemporised  for  itself;  and  it  is 
only  fair  and  just  to  say  that  the  conduct  of  the  people  during 
the  trying  period  of  hope  deferred  was  admirable.  With  one 
melancholy  exception,  the  murder  of  Colonel  Aviti  at  Parma, 
accounted  for  by  local  and  peculiar  causes,  yet  affording  a 
terrible  proof  of  what  might  have  been  on  a  more  frightful 
scale — there  was  (thanks  to  the  wise  guidance  of  such  men  as 
Ricasoli  and  Farini)  neither  disturbance  nor  disorder ;  and 
the  people  seemed  determined  to  prove  their  fitness  for  self- 
government  by  the  calmness  of  their  attitude,  the  prudence  of 
their  counsels,  and  the  moderation  of  their  demands.  Not  a 
whisper  was  heard  of  a  Republic,  or,  if  heard,  it  was  instantly 
suppressed  by  the  good  sense  of  an  overwhelming  majority  ; 
and  we  think  that  Lord  John  Russell  did  not  overstate  the 

F 


66  £SSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

case  when,  writing  to  our  Minister  at  Vienna,  he  declared  : — 
'  At  the  present  time  the  people  of  Italy,  in  harmony  with 
public  opinion  throughout  Europe,  seek  for  order  as  well  as 
liberty  beneath  the  dome  of  monarchy,  supported  by  national 
consent  and  equal  laws.'  And  yet  their  patience  was  sorely 
tried.  When  the  vote  for  annexation  to  Piedmont,  in  August, 
was  communicated  to  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  and  he  was 
offered  the  homage  of  Tuscany  and  Emilia,  the  fear  of  France 
compelled  him  to  give  an  evasive  reply  ;  and  when,  as  a  pro- 
visional expedient,  they  wished  to  confer  the  Regency  upon 
the  King's  cousin,  Prince  de  Carignan,  he  did  not  dare  to 
accept  it  ;  but  the  Chevalier  Buoncompagni  was  nominated  in 
his  stead.  Sardinia,  held  in  check  by  France  and  Austria, 
hesitated  to  take  possession  of  a  territory  the  throne  of  which 
was  vacant,  and  which  held  out  its  arms  to  receive  her ;  for, 
as  Lord  John  Russell  stated  in  March  last  year,  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  '  The  Austrian  Government  declared  that,  if  a 
Sardinian  soldier  should  go  into  Central  Italy,  they  would  at 
once  march  their  troops  to  oppose  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Emperor  of  France  declared  to  the  Austrian  Ambassador 
at  Paris,  that  the  moment  a  single  Austrian  soldier  crossed 
the  Po  the  French  army  would  be  marched  to  oppose  them.' 
Lord  John  Russell  also  said,  in  the  same  speech,  that  '  it  was 
agreed  by  France,  in  communication  with  Austria,  that  the 
Congress  should  be  indefinitely  postponed;'  and  it  was 
generally  believed  that  the  chief  cause  of  this  postpone- 
ment was  the  appearance  of  the  pamphlet  '  Le  Pape  et  le 
Congres,'  bearing  the  name  of  M.  de  la  Guernroniere,  but 
attributed  to  the  French  Emperor,  which  advocated  the 
restriction  of  the  temporal  government  of  the  Pope  to  Rome 
alonc.^ 

However  this  may  be,  England  now  came  forward  with 
four  proposals  for  settling  the  difficulty,  which  were  commu- 

'  'A  pamphlet  published  in  Paris,  un-  which  the  pamphlet  is  the  advocate, 
derthetitleofZ^/<;i'/t'£'//i?d3;/^'-;-t.'j,  which  nor  to  support  them  if  brought  forward 
has  created  too  much  stir  in  the  political  by  others.  The  French  Government 
world  not  to  have  attracted  your  Lord-  hesitate  at  entering  into  any  such  en- 
ship's  attention,  is  the  indirect  cause  gagement,  and  Austria  in  consequence 
of  the  postponement.  The  Austrian  declines  appearing  at  the  Congress.' — 
Government,  it  appears,  requires  an  Earl  Cowley  to  Lord  John  Russell, 
engagement,  on  the  part  of  the  French  Jan.  i,  i860.  Correspondence  respect- 
Government,  neither  to  bring  before  the  ing  the  Affairs  of  Italy,  i860. 
Congress  themselves   the   measures    of 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  67 

nicated  by  Lord  John  Russell  to  Earl  Cowley,  our  Ambas- 
sador at  Paris,  in  a  despatch  dated  January  15  : — 

1.  That  France  and  Austria  should  agree  not  to  interfere  for  the  future  by  force 
in  the  internal  affairs  of  Italy,  unless  called  upon  to  do  so  by  the  unanimous  assent 
of  the  five  Great  Powers  of  Europe. 

2.  That  in  pursuance  of  this  agreement  the  Emperor  of  the  French  should 
concert  with  his  Holiness  the  Pope  as  to  the  evacuation  of  Rome  by  the  troops  of 
France. 

3.  The  internal  government  of  Venetia  not  to  be  in  anyway  matter  of  negotia- 
tion between  the  European  Powers. 

4.  Great  Britain  and  France  to  invite  the  King  of  Sardinia  to  agree  not  to 
send  troops  into  Central  Italy  until  its  several  States  and  Provinces  shall,  by  a 
new  vote  of  their  Assemblies,  after  a  new  election,  have  solemnly  declared  their 
wishes  as  to  their  future  destiny. 

The  French  Government  at  once  professed  its  willingness 
to  accept  the  first  three  of  these  propositions,  observing,  with 
respect  to  the  second,  that  the  'evacuation  of  Rome  must 
remain  subordinate  to  the  certainty  that  no  serious  danger 
should  result  therefrom  to  the  safety  of  the  Holy  See.'  As 
regarded  the  fourth,  M.  Thouvenel,  the  French  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  stated  that  the  Emperor  '  personally  con- 
sidered the  principle  laid  down  by  Her  Majesty's  Government, 
that  the  future  destinies  of  the  States  of  Central  Italy  should 
be  ascertained  through  the  Assemblies,  to  be  equitable  and 
practical.  But  before  taking  any  steps  in  conjunction  with 
Her  Majesty's  Government  in  the  sense  desired  by  them.  His 
Majesty  considered  himself  to  be  bound  in  honour  to  address 
himself  to  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna,  to  expose  what  had  taken 
place  since  the  Peace  of  Villafranca,  and  to  state  the  reasons 
which  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  no  other  solution  was 
possible  than  that  suggested  by  Her  Majesty's  Government.' 

The  Austrian  Government,  however,  would  not  accede  to 
the  English  views,  and  France  then  proposed  the  following 
plan  : — 

I.  Complete  annexation  of  the  Duchies  of  Parma  and  Modena  to  Sardinia. 
2.  Temporal  administration  of  the  Legations  of  the  Romagna,  of  Ferrara,  and  of 
Bologna,  under  the  form  of  a  vicarial,  exercised  by  his  Sardinian  Majesty,  in  the 
name  of  the  Holy  See.  3.  Re-establishment  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Tuscany  in 
its  political  and  territorial  independence. 

But  this  did  not  meet  the  approval  of  either  Austria  or 
Sardinia.     And  we  do   not  believe   that   any  ministry  could 


6S  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

have  stood  in  Sardinia  which  continued  to  oppose  itself  to  the 
demand  for  annexation,  supported  by  the  unanimous  vote  of 
the  revolted  provinces.  The  result  was  that  the  French  Go- 
vernment, in  face  of  the  '  inexorable  logic  of  facts,'  no  longer 
insisted  on  maintaining  the  separate  existence  of  Tuscany  as 
an  independent  state,  but  sullenly  withdrew,  and  left  Central 
Italy  to  determine  its  own  fate. 

The  question  of  annexation  to  Piedmont,  or  the  erection 
of  a  separate  kingdom,  was  put  to  the  vote  in  Tuscany  and 
the  i€5^milia,  and  determined  by  an  immense  majority  in  favour 
of  annexation.  Baron  Ricasoli,  who  had  succeeded  Chevalier 
Buoncompagni  as  Provisional  Governor  of  Tuscany,  presented 
the  result  of  this  appeal  to  universal  suffrage  to  the  King  on 
March  22  ;  and  soon  afterwards  a  bill  was  brought  into  the 
Sardinian  Chambers  to  authorise  the  annexation,  and  passed 
into  a  law. 

In  the  meantime  Europe  was  startled  by  the  announce- 
ment that  France  required  a  'rectification'  of  her  frontiers  on 
the  side  of  the  Alps.  In  other  words,  the  French  Emperor 
insisted  upon  the  cession  of  territory  which  he  had  bargained 
for  as  the  price  of  assisting  Sardinia  in  her  contest  with  Aus- 
tria, and  obtaining  for  her  a  large  accession  of  dominion.  The 
transaction  was  discreditable  to  all  the  parties  concerned,  and 
it  involved  both  Governments  in  duplicity  and  dissimulation, 
if  not  positive  falsehood.  We  can  understand  the  reason  why 
the  bargain  was  concealed,  for  it  was  of  vital  consequence  to 
Napoleon  III.  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  that  the  Great 
Powers  of  Europe  should  have  no  hint  of  a  scheme  which 
revived  awkward  recollections  of  the  policy  of  the  First  Em- 
pire, and,  more  than  anything  else,  was  likely  to  rally  them 
on  the  side  of  Austria.  But  we  do  not  understand  how  states- 
men of  character  could  bring  themselves  to  deny  peremp- 
torily the  existence  of  a  scheme  which  they  knew  had  at  one 
time  been  arranged,  in  the  hope  that  a  change  of  circum- 
stances might  prevent  it  from  being  carried  into  effect,  and  so 
they  might  escape  the  odium  of  ever  being  known  to  have 
entertained  it. 

We  believe  the  following  to  be  a  true  account  of  the  facts 
of  the  case,  although  our  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  do  more 
than  give  the  most  rapid  summary  of  them. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  69 

When  the  question  of  the  intervention  of  France  in  Italy- 
was  originally  discussed  between  the  French  and  Sardinian 
Governments  ;  or  rather,  if  we  are  rightly  informed,  between 
the  Emperor  and  Count  Cavour  at  a  confidential  interview,  it 
was  agreed  or  '  understood,'  that  if  the  result  of  the  war  should 
be  to  free  Lombardy  and  Venetia  from  the  grasp  of  Austria, 
and  annex  them  to  Piedmont,  France  was  to  receive  Savoy 
and  Nice,  or  at  all  events  Savoy,  as  the  consideration  for  her 
services.  At  that  time  there  was  no  idea  on  the  part  of  tlie 
contracting  parties  that  Tuscany  and  the  yEmilia  would 
demand  to  be  incorporated  with  Sardinia.  It  was,  as  the 
lawyers  say,  a  casus  ojnissus,  and  unprovided  for  in  the  agree- 
ment. But  the  event  falsified  the  expectation.  Austria  re- 
tained Venetia,  and  Central  Italy  resolved  to  join  Piedmont. 
The  French  Emperor  now  claimed  the  fulfilment  of  the 
contract,  but  Sardinia  demurred.  She  took  her  stand  on  the 
letter  of  the  bond  :  Savoy  and  Nice  were  to  be  the  equivalent 
of  Lombardy  and  Venetia  ;  but  Venetia  still  remained  in  the 
hands  of  Austria,  and  her  chains  were  riveted  by  the  Peace  of 
Villafranca.  The  terms  of  the  bargain,  therefore,  not  having 
been  kept  by  France,  were  not  binding  upon  Sardinia.  The 
French  Emperor  seems  to  have  admitted  the  force  of  this 
reasoning,  or  at  all  events  he  yielded  to  it,  and  did  not  insist 
upon  his  demand  ;  and  thus  it  was  that  Count  WalewskI,  on 
July  8,  1859,  declared  to  Earl  Cowley,  the  British  Ambas- 
sador at  Paris,  that,  'if  at  any  time  the  idea  of  annexing 
Savoy  to  France  had  been  entertained,  it  had  been  entirely 
abandoned.'  But  when  it  became  apparent  that  the  whole  of 
the  yEmilian  provinces,  and  in  all  probability  Tuscany  also, 
would  become  united  to  Piedmont,  he  revived  the  dormant 
claim,  on  the  ground  that  the  meaning  of  the  agreement  was, 
that,  if  Sardinia  obtained  by  the  aid  of  French  arms  a  sub- 
stantial increase  of  territory  on  one  side  of  the  Alps,  she  was 
to  make  a  cession  to  France  on  the  other.^  And  to  this  he 
conceived  himself  entitled,  even  if  Tuscany  were  excluded 
from  the  annexation.^ 

The    Sardinian    Government,    however,  conscious    of  the 

>  See  Lord  Cowley's  speech  in  the     Talleyrand,    Feb.    24,    i860.       Corres- 
House  of  Lords,  April  23,  i860.  pondence  on  Affairs  of  Italy. 

-  M.    Thouvenel      to     Baron     de 


70  ASSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

extreme  unpopularity  it  would  incur  by  giving  up  provinces 
one  of  which  was  the  most  ancient  inheritance — nay,  the 
very  cradle  of  the  House  of  Savoy — and  too  glad  to  find  a 
pretext  for  escaping  from  the  fulfilment  of  the  odious  bargain, 
resisted  the  claim.  And  now  the  machinery  was  put  in  motion 
whereby  the  compulsion  of  authority  is  made  to  assume  the 
appearance  of  a  voluntary  act,  and  a  fictitious  majority  ob- 
tained by  dexterous  intrigue  is  called  the  national  will,  ex- 
pressed under  the  imposing  name  of  universal  suffrage. 

We  will  not  waste  words  upon  the  impudence  of  the 
attempt  to  make  it  appear  that  the  agitation  of  the  question 
of  annexation  to  France  in  Savoy  and  Nice  was  a  spontaneous 
movement ;  but  soon  afterwards  the  question  became  the  topic 
of  universal  discussion,  and  Europe,  although  indignant  at 
being  duped,  laughed  at  the  idea  of  danger  to  France  because 
Piedmont  was  likely  to  double  her  territory  and  population. 
At  this  juncture  the  inhabitants  of  Chambery  adopted  at  a 
public  meeting  an  address  to  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  declaring 
their  wish  to  remain  under  the  dominion  of  the  House  of 
Savoy,  and  the  Governor  of  that  province  stated  that,  having 
asked  instructions  from  Turin,  he  had  received  the  following 
reply : — 

The  policy  of  the  Government  of  his  Majesty  is  known  ;  it  has  not  varied. 
The  Gcivcrn?nciit  7iever  entertai)ied  the  idea  of  ceding  Savoy  to  France.  Questioned 
aheady  previously  by  the  party  who  dared  to  moot  the  separation,  the  Govern- 
ment did  not  even  think  it  necessary  to  reply. 

We  never  heard  that  the  statement  of  the  Governor  was 
disavowed  by  Count  Cavour,  and  yet  it  seems  distinctly  at 
variance  with  the  facts.  On  the  4th  of  February  M,  Thou- 
venel  informed  Lord  Cowley,  in  Paris,  that  *  it  was  true  that, 
among  the  possible  arrangements  discussed  between  the  two 
Governments  when  they  found  themselves  likely  to  be  en- 
gaged side  by  side  in  war  with  Austria,  was  the  cession  to 
France,  under  certain  contingencies,  of  Savoy  and  the  county 
of  Nice.'^  And  in  a  speech  made  by  Count  de  Persigny  in 
the  Council  General  of  the  Department  of  the  Loire,  at  the 
end  of  August,  when  he  was  the  Ambassador  of  France  at  our 
Court,  he  said  : — '  Even  before  the  beginning  of  the  zuar  we 

'  Earl  Cowley  to  Lord  J.  Russell,  posed  annexation  of  Savoy  and  Nice, 
Feb.  5,  i860.    Correspondence  on  pro-      i860. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  71 

had  warned  Sardinia  that  if  events  should  bring  about  a  great 
kingdom  in  Italy,  we  should  demand  that  the  slopes  of  the 
Alps  should  not  remain  in  its  hands.'  Does  any  one  believe 
that  Count  Cavour  refused  to  listen  to  the  'possible  arrange- 
ment,' or  that  he  gave  any  hint  to  France  that  his  Govern- 
ment would  resist  the  '  demand  '  ?  It  is  indeed  pitiable  to  see 
the  way  in  which  the  Sardinian  Government  affected  to  make 
Europe  believe  that  they  yielded  at  last  to  the  popular  will, 
and  that  in  ceding  Nice  and  Savoy  they  merely  paid  homage 
to  the  new  principle  of  universal  suffrage  invoked  to  deter- 
mine the  allegiance  of  subjects.  They  might  have  said  '  We 
bow  to  a  supreme  necessity,'  and  the  reason  would  at  least 
have  been  understood.  But  what  are  we  to  think  of  the  sin- 
cerity of  the  minister  who  could  write  as  Count  Cavour  wrote 
to  M.  Thouvenel  on  the  2nd  of  March  } — 

We  feel  too  deeply  what  Italy  owes  to  the  Emperor  not  to  pay  the  most  serious 
attention  to  a  demand  based  on  the  principle  of  respect  for  the  wishes  of  the 
inhabitants.  His  Majesty's  Government  would  never  consent,  with  even  the 
greatest  prospective  advantages,  to  cede  or  exchange  any  one  of  the  parts  of 
the  territory  which  has  formed  for  so  many  ages  the  glorious  inheritance  of  the 
House  of  Savoy.  But  the  King's  Government  cannot  refuse  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  changes  which  passing  events  in  Italy  may  have  introduced  into  the  situation 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Savoy  and  Nice.  At  the  moment  when  we  are  loudly 
demanding  for  the  inhabitants  of  Central  Italy  the  right  of  disposing  of  their 
destiny,  we  cannot,  without  incurring  the  charge  of  inconsistency  and  injustice, 
refuse  to  the  King's  subjects  dwelling  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps  the  right  of 
freely  manifesting  their  will.  However  poignant  the  regret  we  should  feel,  if  the 
provinces,  once  the  glorious  cradle  of  the  monarchy,  could  decide  on  demanding 
their  separation  from  the  rest  of  the  King's  dominions  in  order  to  join  other 
destinies,  we  should  not  refuse  to  acknowledge  the  validity  of  this  manifestation 
declared  legally  and  confomiably  with  the  prescriptions  of  Parliament. 

The  farce  accordingly  was  played  out,  the  ballot-box  was 
opened,  and,  by  the  conjuring  process  of  universal  suffrage 
under  the  provident  care  of  French  emissaries  and  electioneer- 
ing agents,  the  two  provinces  transferred  themselves  from 
Sardinia  to  France,  and  another  blow  was  struck  at  the  set- 
tlement of  181 5. 

At  the  end  of  March  then,  last  year,  the  state  of  things 
in  Italy  was  this  :— Piedmont,  Tuscany,  Modena,  Parma,  the 
Romagna,  and  the  Legations,  formed  one  independent  king- 
dom under  the  constitutional  monarchy  of  the  House  of  Savoy. 
Venetia  belonged  to  Austria,  as  has  been  her  lot  since  the 
Treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  in   1797;  and    the    rest  of  Italy, 


72  JSSSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

divided  between  the  States  of  the  Church  and  the  Two 
Sicilies,  retained  its  old  governments  without  modification  or 
change.  The  position  of  Sardinia  was  excellent.  She  had 
added  to  her  dominions  some  of  the  finest  provinces  of  Italy, 
rich  in  material  wealth,  and  filled  with  an  intelligent,  docile, 
and  industrious  population.  It  was  her  obvious  policy  now 
to  consolidate  her  new  acquisitions,  and  to  set  an  example 
of  good  government  to  the  rest  of  Italy,  to  husband  her  re- 
sources, and  to  prepare  herself  for  a  struggle  which  might 
be  forced  upon  her,  but  which  she  ought  not  to  seek  or 
precipitate. 

Above  all,  it  was  her  duty  to  abide  loyally  by  the  terms  of 
the  Treaty  of  Peace  to  which  she  was  a  party,  and  not  to 
cause  fresh  complexities  by  ambitious  projects  or  restless 
intrigues.  We  find  Count  Rechberg  in  January  last  com- 
plaining that  '  no  tranquillity  or  repose  could  exist,  nor  could 
the  security  of  peace  be  assured,  so  long  as  the  Sardinian 
Government  continued  to  foment  discord  and  insurrection 
within  the  States  of  her  neighbour.''  This  was  with  reference 
to  alleged  attempts  on  the  part  of  Sardinia  to  incite  the 
populations  of  Venetia  and  Southern  Tyrol  to  throw  off"  their 
allegiance  to  Austria.^  And  soon  afterwards  M.  Thouvenel 
informed  Lord  Cowley  'that  Prince  Metternich  had  been 
ordered  to  call  the  attention  of  the  French  Government  to 
the  proceedings  of  Sardinian  agents  in  Venetia.  A  despatch 
containing  a  series  of  facts  which,  if  true,  were  very  regret- 
table, had  been  communicated  to  him  by  the  Austrian 
Ambassador.'^ 

With  respect  to  Austria,  we  are  bound  to  say  that,  having 
accepted  the  principle  of  non-intervention,  she  has  adhered 
to  it.  Under  the  most  irritating  provocation,  she  has  remained 
purely  on  the  defensive,  and  neither  directly  nor  indirectly 
since  the  peace  of  Villafranca   has  interfered  in  the  affairs 

•  See  the  letter  from  Lord  A.  Loftus  plaints,  and  to  explain  the  view  which 

to  Lord  J.   Russell,  Jan.   12,  i860,   in  they  take  of  the  position  of  affairs  in 

the  Further  Correspondence  relating  to  their  country.     Count  Cavour  declined 

the  Affairs  of  Italy.  to  enter  into  any  discussion  with  them 

^  It  is,  however,  right  to  quote  the  upon  those  points.'     Sir  J.  Hudson  to 

following: — 'A    deputation    from     the  Lord  J.  Russell,  Feb.  3,  i860.    Further 

[Southern  ?]  Tyrol  waited  upon  Count  Correspondence  on  Affairs  of  Italy. 
Cavour  a  few  days  ago  in  order  to  urge  '  Karl  Cowley  to  Lord  John  Russell, 

that   minister    to   listen  to    their  com-  Jan.  30,  i860.      Ibid. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  73 

of  Italy  beyond  the  limits  of  her  own  frontier.  When  the 
Marches  and  Umbria  were  invaded  by  Piedmontese  troops, 
she  did  not  send  a  soldier  to  the  assistance  of  the  Pope, 
although,  as  a  great  Catholic  power,  she  must  have  felt  it 
almost  a  duty  of  religion  to  protect  the  Holy  See  from  what 
she  believed  to  be  an  act  of  sacrilegious  spoliation.  When 
the  King  of  Naples  appealed  to  her  for  help,  she  declined  to 
interfere. 

We  are  not  called  upon  to  scrutinise  the  motives  which 
have  restrained  her,  nor  to  decide  how  far  she  may  have  been 
held  in  check  by  the  fear  of  France  or  the  exhaustion  of  her 
treasury.  We  accept  the  fact,  and  we  think  that  in  all  fair- 
ness and  justice  Sardinia  ought  to  accept  it  also.  That  her 
rule  in  Venetia  has  during  the  last  year  been  harsh  and  stern, 
we  are  not  inclined  to  doubt.  The  whole  province  was  turned 
into  a  camp,  martial  law  was  proclaimed,  and  an  overwhelm- 
ing force  was  ready  to  crush  the  slightest  symptom  of  popular 
disaffection.  But  this  was  the  cruel  necessity  of  her  position 
if  she  was  to  hold  Venetia  at  all.  The  time  had  gone  by 
when  she  could  hope  to  conciliate  the  inhabitants  of  that 
province  by  any  concessions  short  of  its  absolute  surrender. 
They  scorned,  as  a  mockery,  administrative  reform,  when 
their  whole  hearts  were  bent  on  revolution.  A  bold  defiance 
was  hurled  against  Austria  by  the  Italians,  who  swore  that 
Venetia  should  be  free  ;  and  she  could  only  respond  to  that 
defiance  by  arming  her  fortresses  and  strengthening  her  bat- 
talions. She  must  govern  by  the  sword,  or  cease  to  govern 
altogether.  In  short,  that  unhappy  state  of  things  existed 
which  Burke  described  when  he  said  '  Kings  will  be  tyrants 
from  policy,  when  subjects  are  rebels  on  principle.' 

Such  was — such,  alas  !  is — the  state  of  Venetia.  In  the 
Papal  States,  and  especially  the  Marches,  which  are  separated 
from  Romagna  by  only  an  impalpable  line,  it  was  with  the 
utmost  difficulty  that  insurrection  was  kept  down.  A  rising 
took  place  in  Perugia,  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Apennines, 
in  June,  1859.  Victor  Emmanuel  was  proclaimed,  and  a  Pro- 
visional Government  formed.  But  the  town  was  attacked  by 
2,000  troops,  and  Colonel  Schmidt,  their  commander,  made 
himself  infamous  by  the  cruel  massacre  of  many  of  the  in- 
habitants   after   the    gates  had    been    thrown  open,    and    all 


74  £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

resistance  was  at  an  end.  When  Romagna  threw  ofif  the 
Papal  yoke,  the  excitement  in  the  Marches  became  so  great 
that  it  seemed  impossible  to  prevent  a  revolutionary  outbreak, 
especially  as  Garibaldi  was  on  the  frontier  organising  levies, 
and  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  pass  the  imaginary  line, 
invade  the  province,  and  raise  the  standard  of  revolt :  even 
the  Papal  troops  were  beginning  to  desert  and  cross  over  to 
Romagna.  We  believe  that  at  this  period  the  efforts  of  the 
Sardinian  Government  were  sincere,  at  all  events  they  were 
successful  in  stopping  the  further  progress  of  insurrection  in 
this  part  of  the  Papal  States.  Garibaldi  was  forced  or  per- 
suaded by  Farini  to  retire,  and  for  the  moment  aggression 
was  prevented. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  Two  Sicilies,  where  the  smoulder- 
ing fire  of  discontent  was  about  to  burst  into  a  flame. 

Never  had  a  dynasty  more  emphatic  warnings  that  it  was 
pursuing  a  policy  of  self-destruction  than  the  dynasty  of  the 
infatuated  Bourbons  at  Naples.  We  speak  not  now  of  the 
warnings  conveyed  by  attempts  at  insurrection,  and  by  the 
necessity  of  stifling  in  dungeons,  and  crushing  by  brute  force, 
the  voices  of  many  of  the  best  and  noblest  of  their  subjects 
to  prevent  the  cry  against  their  tyranny  from  being  heard. 
But  we  refer  to  the  remonstrances  from  time  to  time  addressed 
to  them  by  foreign  Powers,  who  were  shocked  by  the  scandal 
of  such  a  government.  Shortly  after  the  revolution  of  July, 
which  took  place  three  months  before  the  accession  of  Fer- 
dinand II.  to  the  throne,  Louis  Philippe  wrote  to  him  a  letter. 
He  said, — 

We  are  in  a  period  of  transition,  when  often  a  little  must  be  relinquished  so 
that  all  may  not  be  lost,  and  it  would  give  me  real  joy  to  learn  that  your  Majesty 
has  given  up  a  system  of  compression  and  of  severity  which  caused  many  days  of 
intense  agony  to  your  late  august  father,  and  which  often  banished  the  smile  from 
the  lips  of  the  enlightened  King  Ferdinand  I.  Let  your  Majesty  imitate  the 
system  in  France  ;  you  will  be  a  gainer  in  every  respect  ;  for,  by  sacrificing  a 
little  authority,  you  will  insure  peace  to  your  kingdom,  and  stability  to  your  house. 
The  symptoms  of  agitation  are  so  strongly  pronoimced  and  numerous  in  Italy,  that 
an  outbreak  may  be  expected  sooner  or  later,  accordingly  as  the  stern  measures  of 
Prince  Metternich  may  hasten  or  adjourn  it.  Your  majesty  will  be  drawn  into  the 
current  if  you  are  not  prepared  to  stem  the  tide,  and  your  house  will  be  burst  in 
two  either  by  the  revolutionary  stream  or  by  the  measures  of  repression  the  Vienna 
Cabinet  may  think  fit  to  adopt. 

To  this  letter  the  King  of  Naples  sent  the  following  reply, 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITAL  Y.  75 

which  it  is  difficult  to  beHeve  could  emanate  from  anything 
short  of  insanity  : — 

To  imitate  France,  if  ever  France  can  be  imitated,  I  should  liave  to  precipitate 
myself  into  that  policy  of  Jacobinism  for  which  my  people  has  proved  feloniously 
guilty  more  than  once  against  the  house  of  its  Kings.  Liberty  is  fatal  to  the 
House  of  Bourbon  ;  and,  as  regards  myself,  I  am  resolved  to  avoid,  at  all  price, 
the  fate  of  Louis  XVI.  and  of  Charles  X.  My  people  obey  force  and  bend  their 
necks,  but  woe's  me  should  they  ever  raise  them  under  the  impulse  of  those  dreams 
which  sound  so  fine  in  the  sermons  of  philosophers,  and  which  are  impossible  in 
practice.  With  God's  blessing,  I  will  give  prosperity  to  my  people,  and  a 
Government  as  honest  as  they  have  a  right  to  ;  but  I  will  be  King,  and  always. 

My  people  do  not  want  to  think  ;  I  take  upon  myself  the  care  of  their  welfare 
and  their  dignity.  I  have  inherited  many  old  grudges,  many  mad  desires,  arising 
from  all  the  faults  and  weaknesses  of  the  past  ;  I  must  set  this  to  rights,  and  I  can 
only  do  so  by  drawing  closer  to  Austria  without  subjecting  myself  to  her  will.  We 
are  not  of  this  centuiy.  The  Bourbons  are  ancient,  and,  if  they  were  to  try  to 
shape  themselves  according  to  the  pattern  of  the  new  dynasties,  they  would  be 
ridiculous.  We  will  imitate  the  Hapsburgs.  If  fortune  plays  us  false,  we  shall 
at  least  be  true  to  ourselves. 

Nevertheless  your  Majesty  may  rely  upon  my  lively  sympathy  and  my  warmest 
wishes  that  you  may  succeed  in  mastering  that  ungovernable  people  who  make 
France  the  curse  of  Europe.  Ferdinand. 

The  course  of  misrule  which  Ferdinand  pursued  is  strikingly 
narrated  by  Miss  Horner.'  It  became  so  bad  that,  in  October 
1856,  both  the  English  and  French  Governments  took  the 
strong  and  unusual  step  of  recalling  their  ambassadors,  and 
breaking  off  diplomatic  relations  with  the  Court  of  Naples, 
on  the  avowed  ground  of  its  vindictive  and  arbitrary  conduct, 
and  the  cruel  inhumanity  with  which  it  treated  its  political 
prisoners.  Ferdinand  II.  died  in  May,  1859,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  Francis  II.  The  two  Western  Powers 
resumed  diplomatic  intercourse  with  Naples  in  hopes  that  the 
Government  would  be  carried  on  in  a  different  and  wiser 
spirit.  But  it  soon  became  evident  that  change  in  the  occupant 
of  the  throne  had  made  no  change  in  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  maxim  of  the  young  King  seemed  to  be  that, 
if  his  father  had  chastised  his  subjects  with  whips,  he  would 
chastise  them  with  scorpions.  Again  the  voice  of  warning 
and  remonstrance  was  heard.  In  July,  1859,  Lord  John 
Russell  wrote  to  Mr.  Elliot,  the  British  Minister  at  Naples, 
and  said : — 

'  'ACentury  of  Despotism  in  Naples  Naples,'    which    Miss   Homer    has    re- 

and  Sicily.'    The  materials  of  this  well-  cently  translated  and  brought  down  to 

written  little  book  are  derived  from  the  the  present  time, 
larger    work,    CoUetta's    '  Histor)'    of 


76  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

'  It  may  suit  the  purposes  of  those  who  have  thriven  on  the  past  abuses  to 
encourage  the  King  to  follow  in  his  father's  footsteps,  for  a  change  of  system  would 
probably  lead  to  their  ruin  ;  but  it  appears  to  her  Majesty's  Government  that  the 
King  has  now  to  choose  between  the  ruin  of  his  evil  counsellors  and  his  own  :  if 
he  supports  and  upholds  them,  and  places  himself  under  their  guidance,  it  requires 
not  much  foresight  to  predict  that  the  Bourbon  dynasty  will  cease  to  reign  at 
Naples,  by  whatever  combination,  Regal  or  Republican,  it  may  be  replaced.' 
And  he  added  that,  '  neither  the  moral  nor  the  material  support  of  England  is  to 
be  looked  for  by  the  King,  if,  by  a  continual  denial  of  justice,  and  the  refusal  of 
an  improved  form  of  internal  administration,  the  Neapolitan  people  should  be 
driven  into  insurrection,  and  should  succeed  in  expelling  the  present  dynasty  from 
the  throne.' 

In  January  last  year  he  informed  Mr.  Elliot  that  the 
British  Government  could  only  lament  the  blindness  of  the 
Neapolitan  Council,  and  would  '  neither  accept  any  part  of  their 
responsibility,  nor  undertake  to  ward  off  the  consequences  of 
a  mis-government  which  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  Europe.' 
And  finally,  in  March,  Mr.  Elliott  told  M.  Carafa,  the  Neapo- 
litan Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  that  he  '  felt  that  the  de- 
struction of  his  Majesty  and  of  the  dynasty  is  inevitable 
unless  wiser  counsels  are  listened  to.'  When,  therefore,  not 
long  afterwards,  the  King,  panic-stricken  at  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  insurrection,  applied  to  the  Foreign  Powers  to 
guarantee  to  him  the  possession  of  his  throne,  there  was  no 
one  in  this  country  who  did  not  rejoice  to  hear  that  they  had 
refused. 

The  danger  of  the  King's  position  was  so  apparent  that 
even  his  uncle  interposed.  In  a  remarkable  letter  written  to 
Francis  II.  on  the  3rd  of  April  last  year,  the  Count  of  Syra- 
cuse pointed  out  what  he  called  the  '  blindness  and  madness  ' 
of  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  principle  of  Italian  nationality, 
which  for  centuries  had  remained  in  the  field  of  ideas,  but 
had  now  descended  vigorously  into  the  field  of  action,  and 
he  advised  the  King  to  shake  off  the  influence  of  Austria, 
and  identify  himself  with  the  policy  of  Sardinia. 

But  it  was  then  too  late,  even  if  the  ears  of  the  Monarch 
and  his  advisers  had  not  been  deaf  to  such  advice.  At  the 
very  moment  when  the  Count  of  Syracuse  was  counselling  a 
change  of  policy  to  avert  insurrection,  the  revolution  had 
begun.  Early  in  April  the  island  of  Sicily  rose  in  revolt.  It 
seems  to  have  begun  at  Palermo,  where,  on  the  4th  of  April, 
the  Royal  troops  were  attacked,  and  the  town  was  placed  in 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  77 

a  state  of  siege.  But  it  soon  spread  like  lightning  over  the 
island,  Messina,  Catania,  and  Agrigentum  declared  for  the 
insurgents  ;  a  secret  committee  organised  their  movements, 
and  guerilla  bands  multiplied  so  fast  that  in  a  short  time  it 
was  computed  that  there  were  not  less  than  200,000  Sicilians 
in  arms.  For  a  month  the  insurrection  raged  in  the  island 
without  any  direct  help  from  Italy.  But  it  produced  there  a 
profound  sensation,  and  there  was  one  man  who  determined 
that,  come  what  might,  he  would  raise  a  body  of  volunteers, 
and  take  part  in  the  struggle  on  the  side  of  liberty.  This 
was  Garibaldi,  who  had  already,  as  we  have  seen,  been  with 
difficulty  restrained  from  invading  the  Marches  and  provoking 
a  conflict  with  the  forces  of  the  Pope.  He  now  actively 
employed  himself  in  organising  an  expedition  to  Sicily,  and 
embarked  at  Genoa  on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  May  with 
upwards  of  2,000  volunteers.  An  enthusiastic  crowd  was 
assembled  to  witness  their  departure,  and  the  only  semblance 
of  concealment  of  their  purpose  was  that  they  did  not  march 
in  their  uniforms,  which  had  previously  been  put  on  board 
three  steamers  which  were  lying  outside  the  harbour.  The 
volunteers  were  conveyed  to  them  from  different  points  along 
the  shore.  Before  he  reached  the  shores  of  Sicily  Garibaldi 
prepared  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  called  the  Italians  to 
arms  in  the  name  of  '  Italy  and  Victor  Emmanuel.' 

Garibaldi  landed  in  Sicily,  at  Marsala,  on  the  nth  of  May, 
and  on  the  14th,  as  '  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  National 
Force  in  Sicily,'  assumed  the  Dictatorship  of  the  island  in  the 
name  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  Bands  of  volunteers  soon  began 
to  pour  into  the  island  from  Sardinia,  and  it  was  in  vain  for  the 
government  to  deny  (as  it  did  for  some  time  deny)  that  this 
was  done  with  its  connivance  and  consent.  Every  one  knew 
that  its  professions  were  belied  by  its  acts,  for  the  undisguised 
manner  in  which  recruiting  went  on  in  Piedmont,  Lombardy, 
and  Tuscany,  and  the  collection  of  vessels  at  Genoa,  of  which 
the  destination  was  Sicily,  made  ignorance  of  the  object  an 
impossible  excuse. 

But  indeed  afterwards,  when  the  success  of  the  enterprise 
was  assured,  and  Sardinia  was  about  to  reap  the  fruits  of 
Garibaldi's  exploit,  she  took  credit  to  herself  for  the  under- 
hand assistance  she  had  given.     In  his  address  from  Ancona 


78  £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  the  people  of  Southern  Italy  on  the  9th  of  October,  Victor 
Emmanuel  made  it  a  matter  of  boast,  and  declared — 

It  was  quite  natural  that  the  events  which  had  taken  place  in  Central  Italy 
should  have  more  or  less  excited  the  minds  of  the  people  of  South  Italy.  In  Sicily 
this  disposition  of  the  people  found  vent  in  open  revolt.  The  people  were  fighting 
for  liberty  in  Sicily,  when  a  brave  warrior,  devoted  to  Italy  and  to  me — General 
Garibaldi— sprang  to  their  assistance.  They  were  Italians  ;  I  could  not,  I  ought 
not,  to  restrain  them. 

And  what  was  the  conduct  of  England  }  If  ever  there  was 
a  time  when  it  behoved  the  English  Government  to  keep 
itself  clear  from  all  suspicion  of  complicity  in  insurrection,  it 
was  now.  Independently  of  the  rules  of  international  law 
and  the  plain  obligation  of  one  State  not  to  interfere  in  the 
internal  struggles  of  another,  the  Government  had  preached 
to  Austria  and  France  the  doctrine  of  non-intervention  as  the 
one  sole  principle  to  be  observed  by  the  Great  Powers  in  the 
question  of  Italy.  It  was  the  attitude  and  moral  influence  of 
England  which  more  than  anything  else  prevented  Austria 
from  lending  assistance  to  the  Pope.  On  the  one  hand,  her 
duty  as  a  Sovereign  Power  commanded  her  to  respect  the 
obligations  of  treaties,  and  to  observe  the  strictest  good  faith  ; 
on  the  other,  her  sympathies  with  liberty  forbade  her  to  sup- 
port Governments,  whose  misrule  she  detested,  in  a  contest 
with  subjects  driven  by  oppression  into  revolt.  We  shall  see 
by-and-by  that,  in  the  opinion  of  Lord  John  Russell,  this 
doctrine  of  non-intervention  did  not  apply  to  Garibaldi  or 
Victor  Emmanuel,  and  that  Garibaldi  was  justified  in  interfer- 
ing because  he  was  an  Italian  patriot,  and  Victor  Emmanuel 
because  he  was  an  Italian  king.  But  letting  this  pass,  it 
excluded  all  who  were  beyond  the  limits  of  that  which  was 
once  called  a  'geographical  expression'-  Italy.  If,  however, 
the  unchecked  supply  of  money  and  men  from  England,  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  Government  that  they  were  to  be  em- 
ployed in  aid  of  the  Sicilian  insurgents,  constitutes  complicity, 
we  do  not  see  how  the  charge  can  be  denied.  Advertisements 
appeared  openly  in  the  newspapers  soliciting  subscriptions  for 
Garibaldi  in  his  enterprise — the  word  was  afterwards,  indeed, 
softened  down  to  'testimonial' — and  the  names  of  the  sub- 
scribers were  ostentatiously  paraded.  When  the  question  was 
asked  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  May  whether  a  person  so 
subscribing  was  liable   to  be  indicted,  it  was  admitted  by  the 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  79 

principal  Law-Officer  of  the  Crown  that,  '  according  to  the 
common  law  of  England,  any  subject  of  the  Queen  who,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  may  supply  money  in  aid  of  the  revolting 
subjects  of  any  nation  or  power  with  whom  we  are  in  alliance, 
commits  an  offence  at  common  law;'  but  at  the  same  time 
he  asserted  that  there  was  a  long  interval  between  the  enun- 
ciation of  that  principle  and  the  manner  In  which  it  is  to  be 
carried  into  execution,  and  that  there  was  no  case  in  which 
there  had  been  a  decision  of  the  general  principle  in  the  shape 
of  an  indictment  for  that  particular  offence.  In  other  words, 
the  Government  were  not  prepared  to  enforce  the  law.  And 
this  was  openly  avowed  by  Lord  John  Russell  in  the  same 
debate,  in  which,  of  course,  he  could  not  take  part  without 
dragging  in  the  Revolution  of  1688.  We  doubt,  however,  the 
prudence  of  the  Minister  who  attempts  to  be  facetious  when 
dealing  with  such  topics  as  filibustering  and  rebellion.  He 
said : — 

A  movement  such  as  that  which  Walker  attempted  in  South  America,  when  he 
sought  to  invade  and  to  obtain  possession  of  territory,  with  no  higher  object  in 
view  than  his  own  selfish  interests,  is  one  case  ;  but  a  patriot  fighting  for  the 
independence  of  his  country  is  quite  another  case.  We  know  that  our  sympathies 
and  the  judgment  of  history  will  distinguish  between  the  cases  of  the  filibuster  and 
felon,  and  that  of  the  hero  and  the  patriot.  We  had  once  a  great  filibuster  who 
landed  in  England  in  1688.  He  not  only  received  considerable  support,  but  all 
the  people  of  England  flocked  around  him.  That  filibustering  was  successful. 
There  are  cases  in  which  it  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  Garibaldi  is  a  man  fighting 
agahist  a  Sovereign  whom  he  ought  to  respect,  or  that  the  Pope  is  endeavouring 
to  maintain  his  authority  by  unlawful  expedients.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  these 
things  in  a  glib  and  fluent  manner. 

We  are  not  at  present  concerned  with  the  question  whether 
William  of  Orange  was  a  filibuster  or  not ;  but  we  cannot 
admit  that  Garibaldi  was  '  a  patriot  fighting  for  the  indepen- 
dence of  his  country,'  unless  we  assume  that  there  was  no 
difference  between  a  subject  of  Sardinia  and  a  subject  of 
Naples,  because  both  were  Italians,  and  that  the  Bourbons, 
who  had  ruled  over  the  Two  Sicilies  for  upwards  of  a  century, 
were  foreign  usurpers.  Will  Lord  John  Russell  venture  to 
assert  that  community  of  language  effaces  distinction  of  coun- 
try, or  that,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  natural  boundaries, 
geography  is  to  determine  citizenship  and  allegiance  }  If  so, 
it  will  be  difficult  for  him  to  deal  with  the  pretensions  of 
France  when  she  claims  the  frontier  of  the  Rhine  ;  and  we 


8o  £SSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

commend  to  his  attention  the  following  passage  from  a  speech 
of  Lord  Palmerson  when  the  question  before  the  House  of 
Commons  was  not  the  conduct  of  Garibaldi  in  the  invasion  of 
Sicily,  but  thepolicy  of  Napoleon  in  the  annexation  of  Savoy:  — 

For,  Sir,  if  you  come  to  natural  boundaries,  and  if  the  country  which  claims 
them  is  to  be  the  judge  of  where  they  are,  it  is  very  easy  to  see  that  Europe  would 
find  it  very  difficult  to  decide  where  danger  would  begin  and  where  resistance 
upon  a  grand  scale  ought  to  be  undertaken.  If  language  were  to  be  the  measure 
of  aggrandizement,  it  is  plain  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  many  countries  to  show 
that  ihey  had  a  good  title  to  possessions  which  they  now  hold.  Therefore,  these 
two  principles  of  natural  boundaries  and  of  community  of  language  are  principles 
the  establishment  of  which  would  be  very  dangerous  to  Europe,  however  small 
comparatively  speaking,  might  be  the  instance  in  which  they  were  carried 
into  effect. 

But  sympathy  with  Garibaldi  soon  assumed  a  more  active 
form.  He  sent  over  to  England  an  accredited  agent  to  collect 
not  only  money,  but  men  ;  and  a  considerable  body  of  volun- 
teers enrolled  themselves  and  embarked  for  Italy  to  fight 
against  a  government  with  which  their  Sovereign  was  at  peace. 
This  was  not  only  in  defiance  of  international  law,  but  in 
direct  contravention  of  the  Foreign  Enlistment  Act.  The 
British  Government  were  bound  to  put  a  stop  to  such  a  state 
of  things  ;  but  they  did  nothing.  We  say  that  it  is  a  scandal 
and  disgrace,  and  a  fatal  and  dangerous  precedent,  to  allow 
this  kind  of  privateering  in  the  service  of  insurrection.  The 
Sicilians  may  have  had  the  holiest  of  causes  ;  but  it  was  no 
cause  of  ours.  And  we  hold  that,  whether  it  be  to  support  a 
throne  like  that  of  Spain  in  1835.,  when  the  Foreign  Enlist- 
ment Act  in  this  country  was  suspended  by  an  Order  in 
Council,  or  to  upset  a  throne  like  that  of  Naples  in  i860, 
Englishmicn  have  no  right  to  take  up  arms  in  a  quarrel  in 
which  their  Government  is  not  engaged  and  in  which  they 
have  no  concern.  And  mark  the  consequences  that  may 
follow  from  permitting  such  a  course.  At  the  very  time  when 
volunteers  were  enlisting  in  England  for  Garibaldi,  the  emis- 
saries of  the  Pope  were  raising  recruits  in  Ireland  for  the 
defence  of  the  Holy  See  :  so  that  it  was  quite  within  the 
bounds  of  probability  that  these  adventurers  might  meet  in 
hostile  conflict  on  the  same  battle-field,  and  Englishmen  and 
Irishmen  cut  each  other's  throats,  while  the  one  side  shouted 
'Victor  Emmanuel  for  ever!'  and  the  other  '  Long  live  the 
Pope!'     Besides,  the  honour  of  the  English  name  is  carried 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY. 


8i 


with  the  English  flag,  and  it  is  exposed  to  all  the  obloquy 
which  the  misfortune  or  misconduct  of  those  who  bear  it  may 
bring  upon  it.' 

We  have  not  space  nor  is  it  necessary  to  give  details  of  the 
marvellous  success  of  Garibaldi — 

Whose  name  in  arms  through  Europe  rings, 
Filling  each  mouth  with  envy  or  with  praise, 
And  all  the  jealous  monarchs  with  amaze, 
And  rumours  loud  that  daunt  remotest  kings. 

In  an  incredibly  short  time,  and  notwithstanding  the  re- 
sistance of  the  royal  troops,  which  with  wanton  cruelty  bom- 
barded Palermo,  he  reduced  all  the  fortified  places  in  Sicily, 
except  the  citadel  of  Messina.  He  landed  at  Melito  on 
August  19,  and  made  his  entry  into  Naples  on  September  8. 
And  how  did  he  enter  .''     Not  at  the  head  of  victorious  legions 


'  Even  tourists  should  beware  how 
they  comport  themselves  when  they 
seek  among  foreigners  a  little  excite- 
ment and  temporary  importance.  The 
following  exploit  of  Mr.  E.  James, 
incredible  upon  any  authority  save  his 
own,  was  communicated  by  himself  to 
one  of  the  daily  journals.  (It  may  be 
premised  that  Mr.  James  had  ventured, 
we  do  not  know  in  what  capacity,  but 
attired  in  a  '  half-military,  half-navvy 
equipment,'  as  the  artist  of  the  'Illus- 
trated News '  calls  it,  a  little  too  near 
the  scene  of  hostilities.) 

'The  cry  arose  that  the  "Cavalry 
were  coming  ! "  and  the  panic  seized 
the  troops.  In  the  melee  I  lost  my 
carriage  ;  my  servant  had  very  indis- 
creetly taken  shelter  with  some  priests 
in  the  top  of  a  convent,  and  during  his 
absence  the  carriage  disappeared.  I 
had  to  walk  along  the  high  road  to 
Caserta  ;  a  little  Swiss  soldier  who  had 
been  wounded  by  a  rifle-ball  in  the 
wrist,  and  was  going  to  the  hospital 
there,  accompanied  me.  On  our  way 
I  saw  seven  or  eight  soldiers,  among 
whom  were  two  officers— the  Swiss 
soldier  told  me  they  belonged  to  a 
Sicilian  regiment — seated  on  one  of  the 
long  agricultural  carts,  which  they  had 
taken  from  a  field  adjoining  the  road, 
and  M'ere  proceeding  at  a  rapid  pace  to 
Caserta.  As  they  met  troops  coming 
from  that  town  to  relieve  Santa  Maria 
they  spread  the  panic  among  them  ; 
they  cried  out,  "  The  cavalry  are  com- 


ing ! "  "  The  artillery  are  close  on  us  !  " 
"We  shall  all  perish!"  "Back  to 
Caserta,  back  !  "  More  than  one  regi- 
ment wavered  and  turned.  The  officers 
behaved  firmly  and  well,  drew  their 
swords,  and  urged  their  men  on  ;  but 
the  alarm  had  spread,  and  the  soldiers 
refused  to  follow.  I  followed  these 
mischievous  and  cowardly  fellows  to 
Caserta,  asked  for  the  colonel  of  a 
regiment  who  spoke  French,  gave  him 
my  name  and  address,  pointed  out  the 
felloM's  as  they  entered  the  square  in 
front  of  the  Palace,  and,  although  I  did 
720t  request  it  as  a  personal  favour,  I 
certainly  suggested  that  they  should  be 
marched  out  and  shot  ;  they  were  at 
once  taken  to  the  guard-house,  and 
were  no  more  seen  by  me.  It  is  only 
just  to  say  that  several  regiments  passed 
these  dastardly  renegades  unnoticed, 
and  marched  on  to  the  relief  of  the 
village.' 

That  is  to  say,  a  mere  foreign  spec- 
tator (for  notwithstanding  the  pistols 
and  '  half-military  equipment,'  we  can- 
not suppose  that  he  belonged,  even  as 
a  volunteer,  to  the  Garibaldian  force), 
being  rather  out  of  humour  at  '  having 
to  walk,'  suggested — all  but  requested — 
that  seven  or  eight  soldiers,  who  were 
coming  along  the  road  with  himself, 
but  were  more  fortunate  in  obtaining 
carriage,  should — for  conduct  witnessed 
and  not  animadverted  upon  by  viany 
officers  of  their  own  army^— be  execute^ 
without  trial  ! 


82  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

with  all  the  pomp  of  war,  but,  accompanied  by  a  few  friends, 
as  a  passenger  in  a  railway-carriage !  He  had  conquered 
by  the  mere  sound  of  his  name,  as  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell 
down  with  a  shout.  The  only  place  where  anything  like 
resistance  was  attempted  was  Reggio,  the  fortress  which 
commands  the  Strait  opposite  Messina,  and  which  was  taken 
in  a  few  hours.  At  San  Giovanni  a  body  of  Neapolitan 
troops,  two  thousand  strong,  surrendered  without  a  blow  ;  and 
we  are  told  that  when  Garibaldi  went  amongst  them  he  was 
almost  torn  to  pieces  '  by  hugging  and  embracing.'  At  Mon- 
teleone  ten  thousand  more  laid  down  their  arms  ;  and,  after 
staying  a  few  days  at  Salerno,  the  Dictator  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 
accompanied  by  his  staff,  proceeded  by  the  railway-train  to 
the  capital. 

But  what  in  the  meantime  had  become  of  the  King  and 
the  main  body  of  the  Neapolitan  army  .''  As  the  insurrection 
in  Sicily  went  on,  and  all  hope  of  putting  it  down  by  force 
was  at  an  end,  Francis  II.  endeavoured  to  avert  ruin  by  con- 
cession. He  dared  not  trust  himself  in  his  capital,  but  from 
Portici,  at  the  end  of  June,  he  issued  a  decree  proclaiming  the 
Constitution  of  February  lo,  1848,  a  general  amnesty  of  poli- 
tical offences,  and  the  liberty  of  the  press.  He  also  charged 
Commander  Spinelli  with  the  formation  of  a  liberal  ministry, 
which  was  to  frame  the  articles  of  a  Statute  '  on  the  basis  of 
national  and  Italian  institutions;'  and  he  convoked  an  assem- 
bly of  the  national  Parliament  for  September  10.  The 
tricolor  flag  was  hoisted  at  the  castle  of  St.  Elmo.  Repre- 
sentative institutions  were  decreed  for  Sicily,  and  one  of  the 
royal  princes  was  to  act  as  viceroy  of  the  island.  But  these 
and  other  concessions  came  too  late.  Many  towns  revolted, 
and  the  army  showed  that  it  could  not  be  trusted.  The  King 
had  also  sent  ambassadors  to  Turin  to  propose  a  confederacy 
with  Sardinia  upon  Italian  constitutional  principles.  But  the 
Sardinian  Government  rejected  these  overtures.  Abandoned 
by  all,  on  the  morning  of  September  6  he  embarked  on  board 
a  Spanish  steamer,  and  took  refuge  in  the  strong  fortress  of 
Gaeta,  which,  with  that  of  Capua,  now  alone  of  all  his  do- 
minions remained  in  his  hands. 

Leaving  Naples   for  a   moment,  let  us  turn  to  the  Papal 
States.     The  Pontifical  Government  did  all  in  its  power  at  the 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  83 

beginning  of  last  year  to  recruit  its  army  by  foreign  mercena- 
ries ;  and  early  in  April  the  well-known  French  General, 
Lamoriciere,  was  appointed  to  the  chief  command.  We  do 
not  expect  historical  accuracy  from  a  soldier  engaged  to  defend 
a  desperate  cause,  but  it  is  startling  to  be  told  in  a  military 
order  of  the  day  that  '  Revolution,  like  Islamism  in  bygone 
times,  now  threatens  Europe  ;  and  now,  as  then,  the  cause  of 
the  Papacy  is  the  cause  of  the  civilisation  and  of  the  liberty 
of  the  world.'  We  pass  over  the  period  from  April  to  Sep- 
tember, during  which  the  new  levies  were  drilled,  and  garri- 
sons occupied,  and  attempts  at  insurrection  sternly  put  down. 
For,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  the  events  that  took  place  in 
Sicily  and  Naples  shook  the  States  of  the  Church  to  their 
centre,  and  nothing  but  the  strong  hand  of  military  repression 
prevented  the  people  from  rising  both  in  Umbria  and  the 
Marches,  and  throwing  off  the  Papal  yoke. 

It  was  at  this  juncture,  and,  unless  we  are  mistaken,  very 
soon  after  some  of  the  principal  persons  of  the  Sardinian  Court 
had  personally  communicated  with  the  French  Emperor  at  his 
newly-acquired  city  of  Chambery,  that  Count  Cavour  ad- 
dressed to  Cardinal  Antonelli,  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  the 
Holy  See,  a  letter  which,  in  its  bold  contempt  of  the  rules  of 
international  law,  is  without  a  parallel.  It  is  dated  Turin, 
September  7  : — 

Eminence — The  Government  of  H.  M.  the  King  of  Sardinia  could  not  with- 
out serious  regret  see  the  formation  and  existence  of  the  bodies  of  foreign  mercenary 
troops  in  the  pay  of  the  Pontifical  Government.  The  organisation  of  such  corps, 
not  consisting,  as  in  all  civilised  governments,  of  citizens  of  the  country,  but  of  men 
of  all  languages,  nations,-  and  religions,  deeply  offends  the  public  conscience  of 
Italy  and  Europe.  The  want  of  discipline  inherent  to  such  troops,  the  incon- 
siderate conduct  of  their  chiefs,  the  irritating  menaces  with  which  they  pompously 
fill  their  proclamations,  excite  and  maintain  a  highly  dangerous  ferment.  The 
painful  recollection  of  the  massacre  and  pillage  of  Perugia  is  still  alive  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Marches  and  Umbria.  This  state  of  things,  dangerous  in  itself, 
became  still  more  so  after  the  facts  which  have  taken  place  in  Sicily  and  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples.  The  presence  of  foreign  troops,  which  insults  the  national 
feeling,  and  prevents  the  manifestation  of  the  wishes  of  the  people,  will  infallibly 
cause  the  extension  of  the  movement  to  the  neighbouring  provinces.  The  inti- 
mate connection  which  exists  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  Marches  and  Umbria, 
and  those  of  the  provinces  annexed  to  the  States  of  the  King,  and  reasons  of  order 
and  security  in  his  own  territory,  lay  His  Majesty's  Government  under  the  neces- 
sity of  applying,  as  far  as  is  in  its  power,  an  immediate  remedy  to  such  evils. 
King  Victor  Emmanuel's  conscience  does  not  permit  him  to  remain  a  passive 
spectator  of  the  bloody  repression  with  which  the  arms  of  the  foreign  mercenaries 
would  extinguish  every  manifestation  of  national   feeling  in    Italian   blood.      No 

G   2 


84  JESSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

government  has  the  right  of  abandoning  to  the  will  and  pleasure  of  a  horde  of 
soldiers  of  fortune,  the  property,  the  honour,  and  lives  of  the  inhabitants  of  a 
civilised  country.  For  these  reasons,  after  having  applied  to  His  Majesty  the 
King,  my  august  Sovereign,  for  his  orders,  I  have  the  honour  of  signifying  to 
your  Eminence  that  the  King's  troops  are  charged  to  prevent,  in  the  name  of  the 
rights  of  humanity,  the  Pontifical  mercenary  corps  from  repressing  by  violence 
the  expression  of  the  sentiments  of  the  people  of  the  Marches  and  Umbria.  I 
have,  moreover,  the  honour  to  invite  your  Eminence,  for  the  reasons  above  ex- 
plained, to  give  immediate  orders  for  the  disbanding  and  dissolving  of  those 
corps,  the  existence  of  which  is  a  menace  to  the  peace  of  Italy.  Trusting  that 
your  Eminence  will  immediately  communicate  to  me  the  measures  taken  by  the 
Government  of  his  Holiness  in  the  matter,  I  have  the  honour  of  renewing  to  your 
Eminence  the  expression  of  my  high  consideration.  Cavour. 

In  this  letter  we  find  an  European  statesman  demanding, 
in  the  name  of  his  Government,  under  the  threat  of  invasion, 
that  an  independent  Power  shall  dismiss  its  army  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  composed  of  foreign  mercenary  troops,  who 
are  engaged  in  the  repression  of  the  '  manifestations  of  national 
feeling,'  or,  in  other  words,  putting  down  a  wide-spread  insur- 
rection. We  have  no  sympathy  with  the  Papal  Government ; 
we  believe  it  to  be  one  of  the  very  worst  in  existence,  and  we 
rejoice  in  the  defeat  of  General  Lamoriciere  and  his  polyglott 
soldiers,  collected  from  all  corners  of  Europe.  But  we  cannot 
blind  ourselves  to  the  fact  that  the  reasoning  of  Count  Cavour 
is  false  and  dangerous.  It  is  false,  because  every  State  has 
the  undoubted  right  to  take  mercenaries  into  its  pay— we  be- 
lieve that  there  is  no  nation  in  Europe  which  has  not,  at  some 
time  or  another,  employed  them  ;  and  it  is  dangerous,  because 
it  sets  a  precedent  for  interference  between  a  government  and 
its  subjects  which  would  lead  to  interminable  war.  It  is 
impossible  to  deny  the  force  of  Cardinal  Antonelli's  reply, 
when  he  said  : — 

The  new  principles  of  public  law  which  you  lay  down  in  your  letter  would  be 
indeed  sufficient  to  dispense  me  from  giving  any  answer  at  all,  they  being  so  con- 
trary to  those  which  have  constantly  been  acknowledged  by  all  governments  and 

nations Your  Excellency  concludes  your  painful  despatch  by  inviting 

me,  in  the  name  of  your  Sovereign,  to  immediately  order  the  disarming  and  dis- 
banding of  the  said  troops.  This  invitation  was  accompanied  by  a  sort  of  menace 
on  the  part  of  Piedmont,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  prevent  the  action  of  the  said  troops 
by  means  of  the  Royal  troops.  This  involves  a  quasi-injunction  which  I  willingly 
abstain  from  qualifying.  The  Holy  See  could  only  repel  it  with  indignation, 
strong  in  its  legitimate  rights,  and  appealing  to  the  law  of  nations  under  the  aegis 
of  which  Europe  has  hitherto  lived 

Whether  the  Sardinian  minister  could  or  could  not  have 
put  his  interference  on  better  grounds,  we  shall  not  now  en- 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITAL  V.  85 

quire  ;  but  we  cannot  admit  that  Sardinia  alone,  of  all  the 
European  States,   is,   like  'a  chartered  libertine,'  to  be  held 
free  from  the  obligations  of  international  law,  or  that  she  is  to 
be  permitted,  without  a  protest,  to  lay  down  new  principles  of 
which  the  logical  consequence  would  be  that  the  right  of  the 
strongest  is  that  alone  which  ought  to  be  recognized  in  the  re- 
lations of  two  independent  governments.    For  if  Sardinia  may 
with  impunity  make  demands  which  are  contrary  to  the  re- 
ceived law  of  nations,  and  invade  the  territory  of  her  neighbour 
unless  those  demands  are  complied  with,  d  fortiori  France, 
and  Austria,  and  Russia  may  do  the  same.     And  it  would  be 
difficult  to  justify  waging  war    with    Russia   in   the   Crimea 
because  she  had  crossed  the  Danube  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
Wallachia  and  Moldavia  as  a  '  material  guarantee.'     We  feel 
the  more  bound  to  challenge  the  dangerous  doctrine  of  Count 
Cavour,  because  it  has  received  the  high  sanction  of  Lord  John 
Russell,  the  Foreign  Minister  of  England,  in  a  despatch  which 
has  created  no  little  sensation  in  Europe,  and  which  we  trust 
will  not  pass  without  comment  when  Parliament  assembles. 
To  anticipate  for  a  moment  our  narrative  of  facts,  we  must 
mention  that,  when  the   Papal   States  were  invaded  by  the 
Piedmontese  army  under  Generals  Fanti  and  Cialdini  in  Sep- 
tember, the  Emperor  of  the  French  (whatever  may  have  been 
his  real   sentiments)   recalled   his   Minister  from  Turin  ;  and 
when  at  a  later  period  the  same  army  crossed  the  Neapolitan 
frontier,  in  October,  the    Emperor   of  Russia  withdrew   the 
Russian  Mission,  there  being  no  ambassador  from  that  capital, 
and  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia  expressed  his  dissatisfaction 
at  the  conduct  of  Sardinia,  although  he  did  not  go  so  far  as  to 
recall  the  Prussian  Minister.     It  was  after  these  diplomatic 
acts  that  Lord  John  Russell  felt  himself  called  upon,  by  that 
impulse  which  leads  him  to  write  letters  more  celebrated  than 
successful,  to  read  to  the  Great  Powers  a  lecture  on  interna- 
tional law,  and  to  establish  the  principle  which,  if  true,  is  at 
least  novel,  that  where  subjects  have  'good  reasons'  for  taking 
up  arms  against  their  governments,  it  is  right  in  another  State 
to   render   them    assistance.     In    a    despatch    to    Sir   James 
Hudson,  the  British   Minister    at   Turin,   dated   October  2y, 
Lord  John  Russell  said,— 

The  large  questions  which  appear  to  them  to  be  at  issue  are  these  : — Were  the 


86  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AJSD  NARRATIVE. 

people  of  Italy  justified  in  asking  the  assistance  of  the  King  of  Sardinia  to  relieve 
them  from  governments  with  which  they  were  discontented  ?  and  was  the  King  of 
Sardinia  justified  in  furnishing  the  assistance  of  his  arms  to  the  people  of  the 
Roman  and  Neapolitan  States  ?  There  appear  to  have  been  two  motives  which 
have  induced  the  people  of  the  Roman  and  Neapolitan  States  to  join  willingly  in 
the  subversion  of  their  governments.  The  first  of  these  was,  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies  provided  so  ill  for  the  admin- 
istration of  justice,  the  protection  of  personal  liberty,  and  the  general  welfare  of 
their  people,  that  their  subjects  looked  forward  to  the  overthrow  of  their  rulers 
as  a  necessary  preliminary  to  all  improvement  in  their  condition. 

The  second  motive  was,  that  a  conviction  had  spread  since  the  year  1849  that 
the  only  manner  in  which  Italians  could  secure  their  independence  of  foreign  con- 
trol was  by  forming  one  strong  government  for  the  whole  of  Italy.  The  struggle 
of  Charles  Albert  in  1848,  and  the  sympathy  which  the  present  King  of  Sardinia 
has  shown  for  the  Italian  cause,  have  naturally  caused  the  association  of  the  name 
of  Victor  Emmanuel  with  the  single  authority  under  which  the  Italians  aspire  to 
live. 

Looking  at  the  question  in  this  view.  Her  Majesty's  Government  must  admit 
that  the  Italians  themselves  are  the  best  judges  of  their  own  interests. 

That  eminent  jurist  Vattel,  when  discussing  the  lawfulness  of  the  assistance 
given  by  the  United  Provinces  to  the  Prince  of  Orange  when  he  invaded  England 
and  overturned  the  throne  of  James  II.,  says — 'The  authority  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  had  doubtless  an  influence  on  the  deliberations  of  the  States-General,  but 
it  did  not  lead  them  to  the  commission  of  an  act  of  injustice,  for  when  a  people 
for  good  reasons  take  up  arms  against  an  oppressor,  it  is  but  an  act  of  justice  and 
generosity  to  assist  brave  men  in  the  defence  of  their  liberties.' 

Therefore,  according  to  Vattel,  the  question  resolves  itself  into  this — Did  the 
people  of  Naples  and  of  the  Roman  States  take  up  arms  against  their  governments 
for  good  reasons? 

Upon  this  grave  matter  Her  Majesty's  Government  hold  that  the  people  in 
question  are  themselves  the  best  judges  of  their  own  affairs.  Her  Majesty'' s  Govern- 
ment do  not  feel  justified  in  declaring  that  the  people  of  Southern  Italy  had  not  good 
reasons  for  throwing  off  their  allegiance  to  their  former  governments  ;  Her  Majesty  s 
Goziernment  cannot,  therefo7-e,  pretend  to  blame  the  King  of  Sardinia  for  assisting 
them. 

We  need  not  quote  the  rest  of  the  letter,  for  with  it  we 
have  no  concern.  We  are  not  '  partizans  of  the  fallen  govern- 
ments,' nor  do  we  assert  that  the  people  of  the  Roman  States 
were  attached  to  the  Pope,  and  the  people  of  the  kingdom  of 
Naples  to  the  dynasty  of  Francis  II.  But  we  pray  attention 
to  the  passage  which  we  have  marked  in  italics.  Her  Majesty's 
Government  cannot  blame  Sardinia  for  assisting  a  people 
which  has  good  reasons  for  throwing  off  their  allegiance.  Who 
is  to  be  the  judge  of  those  reasons  .''  Was  there  ever  yet  a  revolt 
in  which  the  insurgents  did  not  believe  themselves  to  be  in  the 
right .''  and  was  there  ever  a  government  which  did  not  believe 
rebels  against  itself  to  be  in  the  wrong  .''  Lord  John  Russell 
shelters  himself  behind  the  authority  of  Vattel,  and,  as  usual, 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  87 

draws  his  illustration  from  his  stock  precedent — the  Revolu- 
tion of  1688.  But,  in  the  first  place,  Vattel  is  a  very  poor 
authority ;  as  Chancellor  Kent  says  of  him,  '  he  is  not  suffi- 
ciently supported  by  the  authority  of  precedents  which  consti- 
tute the  foundation  of  the  positive  law  of  nations.' '  And  in 
the  next  place  Lord  John  Russell  ought  to  have  continued 
the  quotation.  Vattel  goes  on  to  say,  '  Whenever,  therefore,  a 
civil  war  is  kindled  in  a  State,  foreign  Powers  may  assist  that 
party  which  appears  to  them  to  have  justice  on  its  side.'  This, 
no  doubt,  is  the  logical  consequence  of  his  previous  proposi- 
tion ;  but  it  proves  its  falsity.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  licence  for 
intermeddling,  which  is  wholly  destructive  of  national  inde- 
pendence. These  doctrines,  as  we  shall  show  a  little  later, 
were  repudiated  by  the  Sardinian  Government,  and  they  are 
wholly  at  variance  with  what  has  hitherto  been  the  policy  of 
this  country  in  the  affairs  of  Europe.  We  will  cite  a  memor- 
able example.  When,  in  1821,  revolution  broke  out  in  Spain, 
and  the  progress  of  the  Liberals  at  length  threatened  destruc- 
tion to  the  monarchy,  the  Congress  of  Verona  was  assembled 
in  the  following  year  to  consider  the  course  to  be  adopted  by 
the  Great  Powers.  Lord  Londonderry  was  to  have  gone  as 
the  Plenipotentiary  of  England,  but,  on  his  sudden  death,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  appointed  in  his  stead,  and  in  the 
instructions  drawn  up  by  the  deceased  statesman  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  Duke,  we  find  the  following  passage:  'With 
respect  to  Spain  there  seems  nothing  to  add  to  or  vary  in  the 
course  of  policy  hitherto  pursued.  Solicitude  for  the  safety  of 
the  royal  family,  observance  of  our  engagements  with  Portugal, 
and  a  rigid  abstinence  from  any  interference  in  the  internal 
affairs  of  that  country,  must  be  considered  as  forming  the 
limits  of  his  Majesty's  policy.'  Mr.  Canning,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded as  Foreign  Secretary,  was  equally  explicit  in  his  in- 
structions to  the  Duke,  and  said,  '  I  am  to  instruct  your  Grace 
at  once  frankly  and  peremptorily  to  declare  that  to  any  such 
interference,  come  what  may,  his  Majesty  will  not  be  a  party.' 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  refused  to  sign  the  proa's  verbal  of 
the  Conference,  because  the  opinions  of  the  other  Powers  were 
therein  expressed  in  favour  of  intervention  ;  and  in  a  separate 
note  which  he  addressed  to  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  the  Allies 

'  Kent's  Commentaries,  i.  17. 


88  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

(Nov.  20,  1822)  he  vindicates  the  principle  on  which  Great 
Britain  was  resolved  to  act.  He  said, '  His  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment is  of  opinion  that  to  animadvert  upon  the  internal 
transactions  of  an  independent  State,  unless  such  transactions 
affect  the  essential  interests  of  his  Majesty's  subjects,  is  incon- 
sistent with  those  principles  on  which  his  Majesty  has  invari- 
ably acted  on  all  questions  relating  to  the  internal  concerns 
of  other  countries  ;  that  such  animadversions,  if  made,  must 
involve  his  Majesty  in  serious  responsibility  if  they  should 
produce  any  effect,  and  must  irritate  if  they  do  not ;  and,  if 
addressed  to  the  Spanish  Government,  are  likely  to  be  inju- 
rious to  the  best  interests  of  Spain,  and  to  produce  the  worst 
consequences  upon  the  public  discussions  between  that  country 
and  France.  The  King's  Government  must  therefore  decline 
to  advise  his  Majesty  to  hold  a  common  language  with  his 
allies  upon  this  occasion  ;  and  it  is  so  necessary  for  his  Ma- 
jesty not  to  be  supposed  to  participate  in  a  measure  of  this 
description,  and  calculated  to  produce  such  consequences,  that 
his  Government  must  equally  refrain  from  advising  his  Majesty 
to  direct  that  any  communication  should  be  made  to  the 
Spanish  Government  on  the  subject  of  its  relations  with 
France.' 

But,  moreover,  if  it  was  right  in  Sardinia  to  help  the  op- 
pressed subjects  of  the  Pope,  she  was  entitled  to  render  aid  to 
the  oppressed  subjects  of  Austria,  and  surely  it  would  have 
been  as  much  an  act  of  '  justice  and  generosity  '  to  assist  the 
Italians  of  Venetia  as  it  was  to  assist  the  Italians  of  the  Papal 
States.  Lord  John  Russell,  at  all  events,  is  the  last  man  who 
could  blame  her  for  such  an  act ;  and  yet,  strange  to  say,  less 
than  two  .short  months  before  his  letter  of  October,  Lord  John 
Russell  had  written  another  in  which  he  denounced  such  a 
scheme,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  hint  that  if  it  were 
attempted  Great  Britain  herself  might  take  part  in  hostilities 
against  Sardinia.  We  will  quote  some  passages  from  this 
despatch,  which  was  addressed  to  Sir  James  Hudson,  and 
dated  August  31.  The  last  sentence,  in  which  the  interests  of 
England  in  the  Adriatic  are  made  the  plea  why  Sardinia 
.should  ab.stain  from  *  an  act  of  justice  and  generosity  in  assist- 
ing brave  men  in  the  defence  of  their  liberties  ' — we  are  quoting 
the  words  of  Vattel — gives  a  selfish    and    most  ungracious 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  89 

reason  for  the  policy  which  the  English  Minister  advises  the 
King  of  Sardinia  to  adopt  : — 

.  .  .  Stiil,  although  Austria,  France,  and  England  have  abstained  from  all 
interference  in  Sicily  and  Naples,  there  nevertheless  exists  a  fear  at  Paris  and  at 
Vienna  that  the  annexation  of  the  Roman  and  Neapolitan  States  may  be  followed 
by  an  attack  by  the  Italian  forces  upon  the  Venetian  possessions  of  the  Emperor 
of  Austria.  It  is  clear  that  such  an  attack  could  not  take  place  without  the  assent 
of  the  King  of  Sardinia.  It  is  equally  clear  that,  taking  a  legal  view  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  King  of  Sardinia  has  no  excuse  for  breaking  the  Treaty  of  Zurich, 
recently  concluded  and  signed.  The  King  of  Sardinia  was  free  not  to  accept  the 
preliminaries  of  Villafranca  and  the  Treaty  of  Zurich  ;  but,  having  renounced  a 
continuation  of  the  war,  after  having  given  his  royal  word  to  live  in  peace  and 
friendship  with  Austria,  he  is  no  longer  free  to  cast  aside  his  obligations  and  direct 
a  wanton  attack  against  a  neighbouring  Prince. 

It  is,  moreover,  evident  in  the  present  case,  that  interests  go  hand-in-hand 
with  the  prescriptions  of  duty.  An  attack  against  the  Austrian  enemy  encamped 
behind  powerful  fortresses  is  not  an  undertaking  in  which  success  may  be  reason- 
ably expected.  And  if  such  an  attack  should  fail,  it  would  perhaps  offer  to 
Austria  the  desired  opportunity  of  restoring  the  Romagna  to  the  Pope,  and 
Tuscany  to  the  Grand  Duke. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  neither  of  these  acts  would  be  considered 
by  France  as  irreconcileable  with  the  Treaty  of  Zurich  ;  yet  such  act  would  cer- 
tainly be  most  detrimental  to  the  independence  of  Italy  and  to  her  future  tran- 
quility. The  King  of  Sardinia  in  gaining  Lombardy,  Parma,  and  Modena,  but 
losing  Savoy,  Nice,  and  Tuscany,  would  no  longer  be  able  to  resist  Austria,  who 
■would  be  fighting  for  a  good  cause— the  presei-vation  of  her  territory  and  the  re- 
demption of  her  military  honour.  The  only  hope  left  to  Sardiniain  such  a  conflict 
would  be  to  bring  France  into  the  battle-field,  and  excite  an  European  war.  We 
trust  Count  Cavour  will  not  give  way  to  such  dangerous  illusions.  The  Great 
Powers  are  bent  upon  the  maintenance  of  peace,  and  Great  Britain  has  interests 
in  the  Adriatic  over  which  she  keeps  a  most  careful  watch. 

We  imagine  that  this  advice  will  not  have  much  effect  if 
the  time  comes  when  Victor  Emmanuel  believes  that  he  can 
attack  Venetia  with  success,  and  that  Lord  John  Russell  will 
then  find  his  letter  of  October  quoted  against  his  letter  of 
August.  Sardinia  seems  determined  to  care  as  little  for  the 
maxims  of  international  law  as  the  Bey  of  Tunis  regarded 
them  on  a  certain  memorable  occasion  when  he  rid  himself  of 
the  French  consul. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  order  of  events.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  September  General  Lamoriciere,  commanding  the 
Papal  army,  which  was  badly  provided  with  artillery  and 
means  of  transport,  and  of  which  only  a  small  portion  had 
rifled  muskets,  was  assured  by  Cardinal  AntonelH  that  the 
Piedmontese  troops  would  prevent  an  invasion  of  the  Marches 
by   others,    and    would    make    no    attack    themselves.     The 


90  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Piedmontese  Generals,  however,  after  a  notification  which  can- 
not be  called  a  warning,  entered  the  Papal  States  on  the  i  ith  of 
September,  in  two  divisions.  Lamoriciere  was  in  want  of 
money  and  of  bread,  and,  to  keep  open  his  communications 
with  Ancona,  he  attacked  the  Sardinian  General,  between 
Crocetta  and  Castel  Fidardo,  on  the  i8th  of  September.  The 
battle  was  fierce  and  bloody,  and  the  Papal  troops  were  utterly 
defeated.  General  Lamoriciere  himself  escaped  with  diffi- 
culty, with  a  handful  of  horsemen,  to  Ancona.  Amongst 
those  who  fell  on  this  disastrous  day  was  General  de  Pimo- 
dan,  a  young  French  officer  connected  with  some  of  the 
noblest  families  in  France,  who  had  offiLTed  his  sword  to  the 
Pope  to  defend  what  he  believed  to  be  the  holy  cause  of 
religion.  Next  day  4,000  of  the  Pontificial  troops  laid  down 
their  arms  at  Loretto.  They  were  allowed  the  honours  of 
war,  and  both  officers  and  men  were  permitted  to  return  to 
their  homes.  Indeed,  throughout  the  whole  campaign  the 
conduct  of  the  Piedmontese  was  marked  by  humanity  and 
forbearance.  Spoleto,  which  was  garrisoned  by  500  men, 
300  of  whom  were  Irish,  had  surrendered  on  the  17th,  and 
after  the  battle  of  Castel  Fidardo  the  Papal  army  outside  the 
walls  of  Ancona  had  ceased  to  exist.  Ancona  was  imme- 
diately invested  by  land  and  sea,  and  on  the  29th  of  Sep- 
tember was  forced  to  capitulate. 

The  result  of  these  successes  was  that,  except  within  the 
charmed  circle  occupied  by  the  French  army  at  Rome,  the 
whole  of  the  population  declared  for  King  Victor  Emmanuel, 
and  the  temporal  government  of  the  Pope  was  at  an  end.  In 
fact,  that  very  state  of  things  had  come  to  pass  which  had, 
with  a  kind  of  prophetic  inspiration,  been  suggested  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year  by  the  pamphlet  *  Le  Pape  et  le  Con- 
gres,'  to  which  we  have  already  alluded.  And  it  is  not 
unreasonable  to  presume  that,  however  much  the  French 
Emperor  may  have  thought  it  decent  to  censure  openly  the 
conduct  of  Sardinia  in  the  invasion  of  the  States  of  the 
Church,  he  did  not  secretly  disapprove  of  a  step  by  which 
that  result  was  brought  about  which  he  had  indicated  as  the 
best  solution  of  the  Papal  difficulty, 

Rome,  and  the  territory  immediately  around  Rome,  were, 
at  all  hai^ards,  to  be  preserved  to  the  Pope.     Accordingly, 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  91 

when  the  plot  thickened,  and  the  Sardinian  army  was  press- 
ing onwards,  and  Umbria  and  the  Marches  were  proclaiming 
Victor  Emmanuel,  fresh  French  troops  were  poured  into 
Rome,  and  General  de  Goyon,  who  had  been  recalled  to 
Paris,  was  ordered  to  resume  his  former  command,  '  to  pro- 
tect,' as  he  announced  in  his  order  of  the  day,  '  the  interests 
of  Catholicism  in  the  person  of  the  Holy  Father,  who  is  its 
most  legitimate  and  most  high  representative,  and  to  guaran- 
tee the  safety  of  the  Holy  City,  which  is  its  seat.' 

We  need  not  repeat  our  emphatic  condemnation  of  the 
French  occupation  of  Rome.  It  began  in  a  violent  act  of 
injustice  towards  a  people  which,  copying  the  example  of 
France,  had  chosen  a  Republic  as  their  form  of  government. 
We  are  not  informed  what  pledges  Lord  Palmerston  obtained 
or  sought  as  to  its  duration  ;  but  it  has  been  continued  in 
direct  defiance  of  the  principle  of  non-intervention  which 
France  insists  that  other  nations  shall  observe  in  the  affairs 
of  Italy.  It  is  not,  however,  difficult  to  assign  reasons  why 
the  French  Emperor  chooses  to  prolong  such  an  anomalous 
state  of  things.  First,  it  may  be  alleged  that  the  honour  of 
France  is  engaged  not  to  abandon  a  government  which  she 
has  upheld  so  long.  Secondly,  Napoleon  III.  hopes  by  such 
support  to  conciliate  towards  his  throne  Roman  Catholic  sen- 
timent, and  to  enlist  on  his  side  the  clergy,  who  have  much 
influence  in  France.  And,  thirdly,  by  holding  his  position  at 
Rome  he  secures  a  vantage-ground  in  Italy  which  admits  of 
indefinite  extension.  It  is  the  end  of  the  wedge,  which  at 
any  moment  may  be  driven  home.  He  gets,  however,  small 
thanks  for  his  pains.  He  has  done  too  much  or  too  little. 
He  has  gone  too  far  not  to  be  required  by  the  Pope  to  go  a 
great  deal  farther.  He  has  been  passive  while  sacrilegious 
hands  were  spoiling  the  patrimony  of  the  Church,  when  a 
word  from  him  would  have  arrested  the  invader.  He,  like  the 
King  of  Sardinia,  has  dared  to  draw  distinctions  between  the 
temporal  Sovereign  of  the  State  and  the  spiritual  Head  of 
the  Church,  and  has  appealed  to  history  to  prove  that,  from 
time  to  time,  ecclesiastical  territories  have  been  taken  by 
Catholic  Powers  from  the  Holy  See,  and  that,  in  the  negotia- 
tions of  1815,  the  Romagna  and  the  Legations  were  treated 
as  belonging  to  the   allies   by  right  of  conquest,  and  were  on 


92  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  point  of  being  permanently  separated  from  the  Pontifical 
States.  1 

These  things  are  neither  forgiven  nor  forgotten  ;  and  it  is 
only  in  despair  of  other  help  that  the  Pope  sullenly  accepts 
the  protection  of  France,  which  alone  saves  the  Government 
of  the  Vatican  from  destruction. 

But  what  in  the  meantime  was  the  state  of  things  at 
Naples  }  The  King  had  abandoned  his  capital,  but  not  his 
kingdom,  and  behind  the  line  of  the  Volturno  had  turned  at 
bay  against  the  insurgents  with  an  army  which  could  not  be 
reckoned  at  less  than  30,000  strong.  To  conquer  this  would 
seem,  to  ordinary  minds,  the  first  and  indispensable  task  which 
Garibaldi  had  to  perform.  But  it  shows  the  character  of  the 
man,  and  the  idea  which  had  taken  possession  of  his  soul, 
that  he  was  ready  even  then  to  precipitate  a  conflict  with  the 
French  at  Rome  and  the  Austrians  in  Venetia.  '  Italians,' 
he  exclaimed  in  a  proclamation,  'the  moment  is  come  !  Our 
brothers  are  already  fighting  the  stranger  in  the  heart  of  Italy, 
Let  us  go  and  meet  them  in  Rome,  and  thence  march  to- 
gether towards  the  Venetian  land.'  We  shall  not  attempt  to 
give  anything  like  a  detailed  account  of  the  feverish  struggle 
that  ensued  at  Naples  — a  struggle  not  of  arms,  but  of  prin- 
ciples, or  rather  factions — while  the  Dictator  had  to  divide 
his  energies  between  the  duties  of  civil  government  and  those 
of  military  command.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
Garibaldi's  political  creed  had  always  hitherto  been  that  of 
the  Republicans.  His  political  friends  and  associates  were  such 
men  as  Mazzini,  Saffi,  Crispi,  and  Bertani,  and  it  seems  to 
have  been  from  personal  admiration  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  '  il 
Re  Galantuomo '  as  he  is  called  in  Italy,  and  of  his  gallant 
bearing  in  the  field  of  battle,  rather  than  from  any  attach- 
ment to  monarchy,  that  he  did  not  proclaim  a  Republic  when 
he  first  landed  in  Sicily.  But  for  some  time  it  was  doubtful 
whether  Victor  Emmanuel  or  Mazzini  would  carry  the  day  at 
Naples.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  Garibaldi  was  to  make  over 
the  Neapolitan  fleet  to  the  Sardinian  Admiral  Persano,  and 
he  headed  his  decrees  '  Italy  and  Victor  Emmanuel.'  But  he 
appointed  Mordini  and  Sirtori — both  men  of  extreme  opinions 

'  See  the  despatch  of  M.  ThouvcncI      Further  Conespomlence  on  Affairs   of 
to   Count   I'crsigny,  Fcbruaiy  8,  i860.       Italy. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY. 


93 


— the  one  Pro-Dictator  of  Sicily  and  the  other  Pro-Dictator 
of  Naples.  His  Ministry  also  was  of  the  same  complexion, 
and  became,  indeed,  decidedly  Republican  when  Libertini, 
de  Boni,  Conforti,  Anguissola,  and  Rainieri  found  themselves 
in  power.  But  the  hopes  of  this  party  were  suddenly  dis- 
appointed by  the  appearance  of  a  decree  in  which  Garibaldi 
declared  it  indispensable  to  promulgate  'the  fundamental  law 
of  the  Italian  Monarchy,'  and  proclaimed  lo  Statuto,  the  Sar- 
dinian Charter,  which  had  been  granted  by  Charles  Albert  to 
his  subjects  on  the  4th  of  March,  1848.  This  seemed  as  if 
he  were  in  favour  of  annexation  to  Piedmont,  but,  to  prove 
the  contrary,  he  paid  a  flying  visit  to  Sicily,  and  at  Palermo, 
.  in  a  public  address,  thanked  the  people  for  their  resistance  to 
the  scheme,  telling  them,  'At  Rome  we  will  proclaim  the 
kingdom  of  Italy,'  but  not  then,  while  there  were  '  brothers 
beyond  the  Volturno  with  chains  on  their  ankles.'  The  truth 
is  that,  intoxicated  with  success,  he  thought  that  neither  the 
French  nor  the  Austrians  would  be  able  to  stop  his  victorious 
career,  but  he  well  knew  that,  if  annexation  were  proclaimed, 
his  mission  was  at  end.  He  would  no  longer  be  master  of 
the  helm,  and  more  cautious  pilots  would  avoid  the  rocks 
against  which,  in  his  heated  imagination,  he  was  ready  to  dash 
the  ship.  Some  of  the  appointments  were  laughable  from 
their  absurdity,  such  as  that  of  the  French  novelist  M.  Dumas, 
who  was  made  Director  of  the  National  Museum,  with  a 
special  commission  to  present  a  project  to  the  Dictator  on  the 
excavations  of  Pompeii.  But  it  was  a  more  serious  matter, 
and  one  full  of  significance,  when  a  decree  appeared  awarding 
a  pension  to  the  family  of  Agesilao  Milano,  the  Neapolitan 
soldier  who,  in  1856,  attempted  to  assassinate  Ferdinand  II. 
with  his  bayonet,  and  was  hanged  for  the  crime.  By  another 
decree,  all  the  archiepiscopal  and  episcopal  funds  were  de- 
clared national  property,  but  a  provision  was  made  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  clergy.  For  some  time  the  office  of  Sec- 
retary to  the  Dictator  was  held  by  Bertani,  a  man  about  whose 
republican  principles  there  was  little  doubt,  and  during  the 
first  two  or  three  weeks  of  Garibaldi's  '  reign  '  it  seemed  as 
if  the  end  would  be  the  proclamation  of  a  republic  at  Naples. 
He  was  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  plots  and  intrigues, 
which  thickened  as  time  advanced.    But  his  personal  devotion 


94  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  and  his  conviction  that  without 
the  help  of  Piedmont  it  would  be  impossible  to  work  out  the 
idea  of  Italian  unity,  determined  him  to  adhere  to  his  original 
plan  of  annexation,  while  he  reserved    to  himself  the   right 
of  postponing  the  period  of  its  accomplishment.     Bertani  was 
dismissed  from  the  secretaryship,  and  Sirtori  was  succeeded  by 
the  Marquis  Pallavicini,  one  of  whose  first  acts  was  to  address 
a  letter  to  Mazzini,  calling  upon  him  to  retire  from  Naples, 
on  the  ground  that   his  presence  as  the  representative  of  the 
Republican   principle  created  embarrassment  to  the  govern- 
ment and  dangers  to  the   nation.     Mazzini,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, refused,  saying  that  he  Avas  not  prepared  spontaneously 
to  make  another  sacrifice,  having  already  made  one  when,  '  in- 
terrupting the  apostolate  of  his  faith,  for  the  sake  of  unity 
and  concord,  he  declared  that  he  accepted   monarchy  not  out 
of  respect  for  ministers   or   monarchs,  but  for  the  satisfaction 
of  a  blinded   majority  of  the    Italian  people.'     This  led  to  a 
ministerial  crisis  ;  for  Mazzini  appealed  to  Garibaldi,  and  he 
stood  by  his  friend.     Pallavicini  and  his  colleagues  in  conse- 
quence resigned.    But  the  populace  at  Naples  shouted  '  Down 
with    Mazzini ! '     '  Down  with    Crispi  ! '  and    Pallavicini    re- 
sumed ofiice.     And,  besides  the  party  of  the  Annexationists 
and  the  party  of  the  Republicans,  there  was  a  third  party, 
that  of  the  '  Unitarians,'  so  called  not  in  a  theological  but  in 
a  political    sense.     Their    creed    was   that  Piedmont   should 
become  Italian,  and  not   Italy   Piedmontese.     They  objected 
to  the  charter  and  code  of  Sardinia  becoming  the  charter  and 
the  code  of  the  rest  of  the  Peninsula,  unless  and  until  in  some 
solemn  conclave  of  the  representatives  of  the  nation  such  was 
declared  to  be  the  will  of  the  whole  people.    Pallavicini  wished 
to  break  up  this  association.     The  leaders  appealed   to  Gari- 
baldi, and  declared   that  it  should  continue,  being  under  his 
special  guarantee.     And  yet  the  next  day  he  issued  an  ad- 
dress to  the  people  in  which  he  announced  that  'to-morrow 
Victor  Emmanuel,  King  of  Italy,  the  elect  of  the  nation,  will 
break  down  the  frontier  which  has  hitherto  divided   us  for  so 
many  centuries  from  the  rest  of  our  country,'  and  he  called 
upon  them  to  receive    '  the  sent   of  Providence,'  when  there 
would  be  no  more  political  colours,  no  more  parties,  no  more 
discords.     At  the  same  time    he  proclaimed  that  the  Two 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY. 


95 


Sicilies  form  an  integral  part  of  one  and  indivisible  Italy, 
under  her  constitutional  King,  Victor  Emmanuel,  and  his 
descendants ;  and  that  he  would,  on  the  arrival  of  that 
monarch,  depose  in  his  hands  the  Dictatorship  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  nation. 

The  truth  is,  that  the  advent  of  the  King  of  Sardinia  had 
become  a  political  necessity,  unless  the  revolution  was  to  end 
in  anarchy  or  a  restoration.     The  Neapolitan  royal  army  still 
held  the  line  of  the  Volturno,  and  occupied  the  two  fortresses 
of  Capua  and  Gaeta.     On  October  i  Francis  11,  in  person  led 
a  general  attack  against  the  insurgent  forces  at  Santa  Maria 
and  San  Angelo,  and  a  battle  was  fought  which  lasted  the 
whole  day.     Garibaldi  was  victorious  ;  but  the  obstinacy  of 
the  struggle  showed  that  the  royalists  were  strong  and  deter- 
mined ;  and,  if  they  had  been  successful,  nothing  would  have 
prevented    the   King's    entry  into  his    capital.     Reactionary 
symptoms  were  beginning  to  show  themselves  in  the  pro- 
vinces ;  and  in  Naples  itself  councils  were  divided,  and  chaotic 
confusion  seemed  about  to  become  the  order  of  the  day.     It 
was  clear  that  Garibaldi  could   fight,  but  could  not  govern  ; 
and  the  only  hope  of  the  moderate  Liberals  was  in  the  inter- 
vention of  Piedmont.     Addresses  were  hastily  got  up  and 
despatched  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  praying  him  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies  ;  and  certainly,  if  ever 
there  was  a  case  in  which,  if  the  act  was  to  be  done  at  all, 
'  'twere  well  it  were  done  quickly,'  it  was  now.     But  how  could 
this  be  }     The  King  of  Sardinia  was  at  peace  with  the  King 
of  Naples,  and  there  was  no  cause  or  pretext  for  war.     How, 
then,  could  Victor  Emmanuel  invade  the  dominions  of  Francis 
II.,  and  give  orders  to  his  army  to  attack  an  ally  in  the  agony 
of  conflict  with  insurrection  }     We  have  seen  that  Lord  John 
Russell  solves  the  difficulty  by  quoting  a  passage  from  Vattel, 
and  saying  that  the  insurrection  was  just.     Count  Cavour  has 
added  other  precedents  to  the  solitary  one  which  Lord  John 
Russell's  industry  had  discovered  in  Vattel  ;  but  he  uses  them 
for  the  purpose  of  showing,  not  that  the  conduct  of  Sardinia 
was  consistent  with  international  law,  as   Lord  John   Russell 
would  have  us  believe,  but  that  she  sinned  in  good  company, 
and  could  plead  examples  of  its  violatio?i.     In  his  letter  to 
Count  de   Launay,  the   Sardinian  Minister  at  Berlin,  dated 


96  £SSJVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

November  9,  in  which  he  vindicates  the  poHcy  of  his  Govern- 
ment, he  triumphantly  asks  :  — 

Did  not  France  and  England,  when  they  lent  aid  to  insurgent  Flanders, 
ti-ai}iple  inte>-naiional  law  under  foot?  "Was  not  this  said  law  broken  by  Louis 
XIV.  when  he  assisted  the  Hungarian  insurrection — by  the  States  General  when 
they  supported  William  of  Orange  against  James  II. — by  Louis  XVI.,  who  so 
nobly  contributed  to  the  liberation  of  the  United  States  of  America — by  Christian 
Europe,  who  delivered  Greece  from  the  Ottoman  domination  ? 

Victor  Emmanuel,  however,  cared  little  for  precedents  or 
the  opinions  of  jurists  ;  but  he  cared  much  to  be  King  of  Italy. 
Emboldened  by  the  success  of  his  invasion  of  the  Papal 
States,  and  relying  upon  the  passive  attitude  of  the  Great 
Powers,  he  avowed  himself  the  leader  of  the  national  move- 
ment, and  assumed  the  responsibility  of  its  guidance.  In  an 
address  from  Ancona  to  the  people  of  Southern  Italy,  on 
October  9,  he  said  : — 

All  Italy  has  feared  that,  under  the  shade  of  a  glorious  popularity,  of  a  classic 
probity,  there  was  a  faction  clustering  which  was  ready  to  sacrifice  the  immediate 
triumph  of  the  nation  to  the  chimeras  of  its  own  ambitious  fanaticism.  All  the 
Italians  have  applied  to  me  to  avert  this  danger.  It  was  my  duty  to  do  so,  be- 
cause in  the  existing  state  of  things  it  would  not  be  moderation,  it  would  not  be 
wisdom,  but  weakness  and  imprudence,  if  I  did  not  assume  with  a  firm  hand  the 
direction  of  the  national  movement  for  which  I  am  responsible  before  Europe. 

And  he  added, — *  In  Europe  my  policy  will  not  be  without 
its  use,  by  reconciling  the  progress  of  peoples  with  the  sta- 
bility of  monarchs.'  It  certainly  did  not  reconcile  the  progress 
of  the  people  of  the  Two  Sicilies  with  the  stability  of  the 
throne  of  the  Bourbons  ;  nor  if  Hungary  breaks  out  into 
insurrection  is  it  likely  to  reconcile  the  progress  of  the  Hun- 
garians with  the  stability  of  the  Austrian  monarchy.  If, 
indeed,  it  means  that  despotic  governments  are  to  take  warn- 
ing, and  that  their  best  chance  of  averting  revolt  is  to  give 
their  subjects  a  constitution,  we  are  disposed  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent to  agree  with  the  assertion.  But  bitter  experience  has 
proved  that  constitutions  cannot  be  safely  extemporised,  and 
that  when  this  is  attempted  the  result  too  often  is  disastrous 
failure.  The  rest  may  be  soon  told.  Immediately  after  his 
address  from  Ancona,  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  without  any 
declaration  of  war,  and  while  the  Neapolitan  ambassador  was 
still  at  Turin,  gave  orders  to  his  army  to  cross  the  frontier 
into  the  Abruzzi,  and  it  advanced  in  the  direction  of  Capua. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  97 

The  leading  columns  came  into  collision  with  the  Royalist 
troops  on  the  heights  of  Macerone,  near  Isernia,  and  defeated 
them,  compelling  them  to  retire  upon  Capua.  Garibaldi 
advanced  with  a  body  of  volunteers  to  meet  the  King,  and  on 
October  26  their  first  interview  took  place,  between  Teano  and 
Speranzano. 

In  the  meantime  the  question  of  annexation  to  Piedmont 
had  been  put  to  the  vote,  and  the  result  was  an  overwhelming 
majority  in  its  favour.'  The  King  entered  Naples  on  Novem- 
ber 7,  amidst  the  clamorous  applause  of  the  populace,  and 
immediately  visited  the  cathedral,  where  St.  Januarius  did  not 
refuse  to  recognise  the  successful  monarch,  and  his  blood 
liquefied  in  the  most  orthodox  manner.  Two  days  afterwards 
Garibaldi  quitted  Naples  for  his  solitary  home  in  the  Island 
of  Caprera,  having  first  issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  he 
called  upon  the  Italians  to  be  ready  with  a  million  of  men  in 
arms  in  March,  1861. 

Thus,  then,  the  great  drama  has  been  accomplished  ;  and 
Victor  Emmanuel  may  be  hailed  in  the  words  of  Banquo  : — 

Thou  hast  it  now,  King,  Cawdor,  Glammis,  all. 

We  will  not  continue  the  quotation,  for  we  have  no  wish  to 
use  hard  language,  although  we  have  felt  bound  to  express 
our  opinion  of  the  conduct  of  Sardinia  in  the  ambitious  game 
that  she  has  played.  If  the  rules  of  international  law — which 
are  the  safeguard  of  the  weak  against  the  strong— are  to  be 
set  aside,  and  one  State  is  to  be  allowed  to  act  as  Sardinia 
has  done,  and  to  determine  in  what  way  the  government  of 
another  is  to  be  carried  on,  we  confess  that  we  cannot  see  with- 
out alarm  the  consequences  to  which  such  a  doctrine  must  lead. 
It  is  no  answer  to  say  that  a  government  is  bad,  and  there- 
fore ought  to  be  overthrown.  The  question,  as  we  have  already 
said,  is  not  as  to  the  right  of  subjects  to  resist,  but  the  right 
of  a  stranger  to  interfere.  But  then  it  is  alleged  that  Sardinia 
is  not  a  stranger,  because  she  is  Italian  ;  and  that  this  gives 
her  a  title,  which  makes  the  case  exceptional.  We  doubt, 
however,  whether  even  this  principle  is  large  enough  to  satisfy 
those  who  are  ready  to  defend  interference  in  Italy.  They 
take  the  broader  ground  of  sympathy  with  oppression,  and 

'  The  numberr,  we  beheve  were--Yes,  1,302,064;  No,  10,312. 
H 


98  £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  duty  of  freemen  to  assist  those  who  are  struggling  to  be 
free.  Homo  sum,  hnmani  nihil  a  Die  alicmim  piito,  is  their 
pohtical  motto  ;  and  this  of  course  transcends  all  difference  of 
country  and  distinction  of  race.  With  such  reasoners  it  is  of 
no  use  to  argue.  They  may  plead  the  authority  of  Vattel  and 
Lord  John  Russell,  but  they  will  be  denounced  by  the  great 
majority  of  thinking  men  as  the  plagues  and  pests  of  king- 
doms ;  and  when  their  enterprise  fails,  and  they  are  captured, 
they  will  be  dealt  with,  not  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  as  pirates 
and  buccaneers.  But  the  doctrine  of  nationalities  is  more 
plausible.  The  geographical  position  of  Italy,  cut  off  by  the 
sea  and  the  Alps,  the  boundaries  of  nature,  from  the  rest  of 
Europe,  is  apt  to  suggest  the  idea  that  its  different  territories 
were  rather  the  provinces  of  one  kingdom  than  independent 
states.  History  declares  the  contrary ;  and  an  attentive  ex- 
amination of  the  strongly  marked  natural  boundaries  between 
many  of  the  Italian  States  will  tend  to  explain  their  history. 
Unless  we  are  prepared  to  ignore  the  past,  and  construct  a 
theory  about  Italy  instead  of  accepting  facts,  we  must  admit 
that  Italian  unity  is  a  thing  which,  except  perhaps  under  the 
pressure  of  Roman  domination,  the  world  has  hitherto  never 
seen.  If  so,  and  if  nationality  is  to  be  pressed  as  the  argu- 
ment to  justify  Sardinia,  we  ask  where  it  is  to  stop  .'*  The 
Ionian  Islands  possibly,  if  left  to  themselves,  would  declare 
for 'annexation' to  Greece.  Is  England,  however,  prepared 
to  surrender  them  }  Is  she  prepared  to  give  up  Gibraltar  to 
Spain,  and  Malta  to  Italy  .''  Nay,  foreign  nations  may  ask 
with  what  consistency  she  holds  India  in  fee — that  mighty 
Peninsula  of  the  East,  with  the  Himalayas  for  its  Alps,  and 
the  Indian  Ocean  for  its  Mediterranean  and  Adriatic .-' 

But  whatever  difference  of  opinion  there  may  be  as  to  the 
mode  in  which  the  new  kingdom  of  Italy  has  been  formed, 
there  can  be  amongst  ourselves  but  one  wish  and  hope  for  its 
success.  Constitutional  government  in  place  of  tyranny, 
temperate  liberty  in  place  of  coercion,  and  freedom  of  con- 
science in  place  of  bigotry  and  intolerance,  are  blessings  which 
it  must  be  the  ardent  desire  of  Englishmen  to  see  extended 
amongst  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  the  best  minds  of  Italy 
have  long  yearned  for  the  enjoyment  of  them.  England  has 
no  interest  in  the  maintenance  of  despotism,  and  she  never 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITAL  V.  99 

was  a  party  to  any  Holy  Alliance  against  the  liberties  of 
peoples.     If  it  is  found  possible  to  form  into  one  strong  whole 
the  petty  states  into  which  Italy  has   been   divided,  and   to 
work  out  satisfactorily  the  problem  of  giving  representative 
institutions  to  the  people  without  making  the  national  parlia- 
ment the  arena  of  faction  and  intrigue,  and  endangering  the 
monarchy,  we  shall  unfeignedly  rejoice  in  the  result.      Wit/nn 
her  ozvii  limits,  hitherto,  Sardinia  has  done  well.     From  the 
time  when,  in  1848,  Charles  Albert  gave  his  subjects  a  consti- 
tution,  and    proclaimed    lo    Statuto    as  the  charter   of  their 
liberties,  the  Government  has  steadily  pursued   the   path  of 
progress  and  improvement.     We  watched  with    interest  the 
struggle  between  the  King  and  the  Pope — so  strangely  like 
that   which   seven   centuries  ago  was   fought   in  this  country 
between  Henry   II.  and  Becket,  and  which   Canon   Robert- 
son has  lately  described  with  admirable  impartiality' — and 
we  applauded  the  courage  with  which  the  pretensions  of  the 
clergy  were  resisted  and  they  were  forced   to  yield   to  the 
supremacy  of  the  law.     It  was  indeed  a  task  of  no  ordinary 
difficulty  to  break  through  the  slavish  traditions  of  the  past, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  thunders  of  Rome,  to  establish  indepen- 
dence of  the  Vatican  without  ceasing  to  belong  to  the  o-reat 
Catholic  communion.     The  domestic  policy  of  Count  Cavour 
has  been  chiefly  modelled  on  the  example  of  England,  where 
he  long  resided,  and  not  only  studied  but  wrote  upon  ques- 
tions that  interest  ourselves.^     From  England  he  learnt  the 
doctrines  of  free-trade,  which  have  been  applied  in  Piedmont 
to  a  considerable  extent  ;  and  even  in  the  conduct  of  business 
in  the  Sardinian  Chamber,  when  he  wants  a  precedent  or  an 
authority,  he  takes  care  to  fortify  himself  with  the  example  of 
the  British  Parliament.     It  is  impossible  to  travel  in  Piedmont 
without  being  struck  by  the  signs  of  material  wealth  and  hap- 
piness which  are  seen  in  the  execution  of  public  works,  the 
active  industry  of  the  population,  their  contented  aspect,  and 
the  manly  yet  respectful  independence  of  their  manner.    There 
are,  however,  many  drawbacks,  not  the  least  of  which  are  a 
bigoted  priest-party,  and  an  impetuous  democratic  faction  ; 

'    'Becket  :  a  Biography.'  London,      Sur   VEiat   actuel    de  V  Irlande  ct  son 
1859.  Avenir. 

-  lie  wrote,  for  instance,  an  cs.ay, 

H  2 


loo  £SSAyS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

and  the  success  of  the  Government  cannot  be  considered  per- 
fectly secure.  Nevertheless  it  aims  at  being  a  good  Govern- 
ment, and  we  think  that  to  some  other  parts  of  Italy,  if  not  to 
the  whole,  the  extension  of  such  a  Government  would  be  great 
gain.  Indeed  we  have  heard  that  a  change  for  the  better  has 
already  taken  place  in  the  Legations,  and  in  other  parts  of 
Central  Italy  annexed  to  Piedmont ;  that  railways  are  in 
course  of  construction,  commerce  is  springing  up,  and  life  and 
activity  are  taking  the  place  of  apathy  and  misery. 

We  must  not,  however,  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  there 
are  immense  difficulties  in  the  way,  and  that  many  disturbing 
forces  will  be  at  work  to  mar  the  success  of  the  experiment. 
With  the  exception  of  England,  the  Great  Powers  of  Europe 
will  look  coldly  on  the  new  Italian  kingdom.  But,  indepen- 
dently of  danger  from  without,  the  internal  organisation  of  the 
new  territories  will  be  no  easy  task.  The  first  difficulty  will 
be  Naples,  that  kingdom  which  Victor  Emmanuel  has  so  pre- 
maturely grasped.  Assuming  that  he  is  permitted  to  obtain 
full  possession  of  the  country,  it  will  be  necessary  to  enforce 
at  Naples  and  throughout  Calabria,  with  stern  severity, 
obedience  to  the  law.  In  this  process,  according  to  the  latest 
accounts,  not  even  a  beginning  has  been  made.  For  some 
time  Victor  Emmanuel's  possession  of  the  Two  Sicilies  will  be 
little  diffiirent  from  a  military  occupation  ;  for,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  work  to  be  done  at  Gaeta,  a  large  force,  which  Sardinia 
can  very  ill  spare,  must  be  spread  over  the  country,  whether 
in  the  shape  of  the  regular  army  or  the  mobilised  battalions  of 
the  National  Guards  of  Turin,  Milan,  Brescia,  Genoa,  and 
Florence — to  preserve  order  and  put  down  *  reactionary ' 
attempts.  The  pressure  of  the  tax-gatherer  will  be  also  felt, 
and  men  will  find  out  that  the  blessings  of  a  constitutional 
government  are  not  to  be  enjoyed  without  paying  for  them. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  the  masses  were  desirous  of  the  changes 
which  have  taken  place.  We  observe  that  Mr.  Petre,  in  his 
despatch,'  says  that  the  Neapolitan  population  at  large  was 
tranquil,  or,  at  least,  apathetic,  even  when  everything  like  free 
speech  or  thought  was  instantly  put  down.  But  besides  all 
this,  when  the  momentary  and  by  no  means  universal  feeling 
in  favour  of  Victor  Emmanuel  has  passed  away,  there  will 

'   '  A  Century  of  Despotism,'  p.  220. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITAL  Y.  toi 

arise  a  jealous  suspicion  that  Naples  is  treated  as  an  appanage 
of  Sardinia,  and  does  not  obtain  her  fair  share  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  government  The  inhabitants  of  Calabria  are 
very  different  from  the  inhabitants  of  Tuscany  and  Piedmont. 
They  are  a  mixed  race,  consisting  of  descendants  from  Greeks, 
Normans,  Germans,  French,  and  Spaniards,  besides  the  ori- 
ginal settlers,  and,  long  accustomed  to  the  rule  of  a  corrupt 
and  despotic  government,  are  little  fitted  to  exercise  the  rights 
of  freemen  or  give  fair  play  to  the  action  of  representative  in- 
stitutions. They  will  require  for  many  years  firm  and  ener- 
getic control,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  many  elements 
of  discontent  will  be  rife  amongst  them.  The  soldiers  of  the 
disbanded  regiments  of  the  Royalist  army  have  also  been 
turned  adrift  in  the  country,  and  will  cause  no  little  trouble, 
both  as  brigands  and  conspirators.  Nor  can  it  be  without  a 
sigh  that  the  Neapolitans  will  see  their  unrivalled  city  sink 
from  the  dignity  of  the  capital  of  a  kingdom  to  the  position  of 
a  provincial  town.  Moreover,  Sicily  has  always  shown  the 
utmost  jealousy  of  being  incorporated  with  Naples,  and  has  in 
former  years  struggled  for  independence.  It  remains  to  be 
seen  how  far  the  island  will  be  content  to  surrender  this  idea, 
and  to  become  a  mere  province  of  the  Italian  kingdom.  We 
mention  these  things  not  because  we  have  any  sympathy  with 
the  Government  which  has  fallen,  but  because  they  are  diffi- 
culties which  it  is  foolish  to  ignore.  Our  anxious  hope  is  that 
they  may  be  overcome,  and  that  the  more  than  questionable 
policy  of  Victor  Emmanuel  in  the  mode  in  which  he  has 
hastened  to  add  so  largely  to  his  dominions  may  not  prove 
hereafter  a  source  of  weakness  and  danger  to  himself 

But  there  are  other  more  immediate  perils  to  be  met.  The 
King  of  Italy  has  to  face  the  questions  of  Venetia  and  Rome. 
When  Garibaldi  quitted  Naples  in  November  and  retired  to 
his  Patmos  at  Caprera,  he  left  as  a  legacy  to  the  new  Govern- 
ment the  battle-cry  of  '  a  million  of  men  and  muskets  in 
March.'  The  creed  of  the  great  mass  of  the  Italians  is,  that 
without  Rome  and  Venice  there  is  no  Italy,  and  that  to 
abandon  them  to  their  present  fate  is  to  be  guilty  of  the  worst 
treason  to  the  cause  of  nationality.  It  is  clear  that  no  consi- 
derations except  those  of  prudence  would  deter  Count  Cavour 
from  attacking  Venetia  ;  but  he  knows  that  if  Sardinia  is  the 


102 


ASSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 


first  assailant  of  Austria,  she  need  expect  no  assistance  from 
France  ;  and  he  is  too  sagacious   a  pohtician   not  to  foresee 
the  tremendous  risks  that  would  be  run  in  a  single-handed 
contest  with  a  great  military  Power.     Prudence,  however,  and 
foresight  are  not  qualities  which  find  favour  with  the  multitude 
in  respect  of  questions  which  are   embraced  by  it  with  the 
fervour  of  sentiment  and  passion  ;  nor  is  it  likely   that  the 
youth  of  Italy  will  listen  to  such  counsels  when  what  they 
believe  to  be  the  fated  moment  has  arrived,  and  Garibaldi  calls 
them  to  arms.     How,  then,  will  the  Government  be  able  to 
restrain  them  after  the  example  it  has  set  and  the  encourage- 
ment it  has  given  >.     The  Mazzinian  party  is  actively  at  work, 
and  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  persuade  a  fickle  and  indolent 
people  that  they  have  gained  little  by  revolution  but  a  change 
of  masters,  and  that  the  best  use  they  can  make  of  successful 
insurrection  is  to  establish  a  republic.     But,  above  all,  there  is 
a  very  great  likelihood  that  Garibaldi  himself,  if  he  thinks  the 
King  backward  in  the  cause  of  Italian   unity,  will  join  with 
Mazzini  and  set  up  a  republic  at  Naples,  when  the  lamentable 
tragedy  of  1848  is  sure  to  be  repeated. 

Count  Cavour  seems  to  hope  for  a  peaceful  solution  of  the 
difficulty  as  regards  Venetia  from  the  force  and  pressure  of 
public  opinion.  In  the  speech  he  delivered  in  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  at  Turin,  in  October,  when  the  projct  de  loi  was  to 
authorise  the  King  to  accept  the  annexation  of  those  pro- 
vinces of  Central  and  Southern  Italy  in  which  the  population, 
by  universal  suff"rage,  manifested  a  wish  to  form  part  of  the 
constitutional  monarchy  of  Sardinia,  he  said  :  — 

We  are  asked,  how  then  will  you  solve  the  Venetian  question  ?  In  a  very 
simple  manner,  by  changing  the  opinion  of  Europe.  But  how  ?  The  opinion  of 
Europe  will  change,  because  the  opposition  we  now  meet  exists  not  only  in  the 
Governments,  but,  we  must  avow  it,  also  in  a  great  part  of  the  population,  even 
liberal,  of  Europe. 

Opinion  alone,  in  the  sense  in  which  Count  Cavour  uses  the 
word,  will  not  be  sufficient.  Nor  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
a  voluntary  surrender  will  be  made  without  an  equivalent ;  an'd 
which  amongst  the  nations  in  Europe  is  entitled  to  ask  Austria 
to  make  the  sacrifice  }  They  have  no  right  to  call  upon  her  to 
give  up  Venetia,  which  she  holds  by  the  title  of  treaty  and 
the  possession  of  more  than  sixty  years  ;  but,  if  she  chooses, 


THE  KINGDOM   OF  ITALY.  103 

she  may  sell  it ;  and  this   is  the  scheme  which  finds  favour 
with  many  who  have  no  wish  to  hurt  her  pride  or  cripple  her 
power.     They  say  that  the  province  imparts  no  real  strength 
to  her  empire  under  the  conditions  by  which  alone  it  can  in 
future  be  held,  and  that  it  is,  in  fact,  a  drain  upon  her  re- 
sources and  a  chronic  ulcer  in  her  side.     What  Austria  wants 
in  her  present  impoverished  condition  is  money,  and  here  she 
has  an  admirable  opportunity  of  filling  her  exhausted  coffers. 
They  say  that  to  reconcile  the  inhabitants  of  Venice  to  the 
yoke  of  Austria,  after  the  events  of  the  past  year,  is  a  moral 
impossibility,  and  that  nothing  but  the  presence  of  an  enor- 
mous military  force  can  prevent   disaffection   from  bursting 
into  revolt.     The  time   seems  to  have   gone  by  when  any 
amount  of  concession  or  reform  would  be  of  the  least  avail  ; 
and  so  long  as  Venetia  is  politically  separated  from  the  rest 
of  Italy,  it  will  be  a  constant  source  of  expense,  trouble,  and 
danger  to  the  empire.     Certainly,  if  this  be  so,  no  civilized 
government  can  desire  to  hold  part  of  its  dominions  on  such  a 
tenure.     On  the  other  hand,  it  is  urged  that  the  possession  of 
Venetia  is  necessary  for  the  defence  of  Austria  as  a  German 
Power,  and  that  the  Quadrilateral  is  that  which  protects  her 
southern  frontier  from  invasion.     To  this  it  might  perhaps  be 
replied,  that  on  the  south  she  will   always  have  the  mighty 
barrier  of  the  Rhaetian  Alps,  and  that  it  is  as  easy  to  prevent 
them  from  being  turned  by  constructing  a  line  of  fortresses  on 
the  north-east  of  Venice  as  it  is  by  the  existence  of  the  Quad- 
rilateral on  the  west.     That  Austria  should  be  strong,  and 
should  present  a  firm  and  massive  bulwark  against  Russia  on 
one  side  and  against  France  on  the  other,  is  very  important 
for  the  peace  and  safety  of  Europe,  and,  naturally,  is  not  much 
desired  by  France,  who  would  be  glad  to  see  the  dissolution 
of  the  only  Continental  Power  which  can  at  present  oppose 
any  effectual  barrier  to  her  encroachments.     The  value  of 
Austria  is  great,  however  moderate  her  merit  may  be.     She 
has  lately  evinced  a  desire  to  conciliate  the  provinces  north  of 
the  Alps  which  own  her  sway,  and  we  hope  that  she  may  yet 
succeed   in   retrieving  the  affections  of  Hungary,  which  her 
enemies  are  striving  to  rend  from  her,  and  in  giving  new  life 
and  spirit  to  her  German  States.     But  her  position  is  at  this 
moment  highly  precarious. 


104  BSSAYS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

We  turn  now  to  Rome.  In  the  same  speech  which  we  have 
last  quoted  of  Count  Cavour's  he  carried  with  him  the  rap- 
turous applause  of  the  Chamber  when  he  said  : — 

During  the  last  twelve  years  the  pole  star  of  King  Victor  Emmanuel  has  been 
the  principle  of  national  independence.  What  will  this  star  be  with  respect  to 
Rome  ?  Our  star,  gentlemen,  will  direct  us  to  look  upon  the  Eternal  City,  upon 
which  five-and-twenty  centuries  have  accumulated  all  glorious  memories,  as 
destined  to  become  the  splendid  capital  of  our  Italian  kingdom. 

Very  possibly  Rome,  notwithstanding  many  disadvantages, 
may  be  deemed  (as  Turin  is  not)  a  desirable  capital  to  com- 
plete the  decorations  of  the  new  Italian  kingdom  ;  although 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  any  capital,  in  the  ordinary  sense, 
is  desirable  at  present   for  a  combination  of  States  hitherto 
very  jealous  of  each  other,  and  each  of  them  accustomed  to 
regard  its  own  capital  as  the  centre  of  all  that  is  desirable  in 
life.     It  has  been  suggested  that  Bologna,  which  is  in  a  central 
position,  might  be  adopted  as  a  sort  of  Italian  Washington 
for  the  meeting  of  the  Parliament.     But  if  Rome  is  indispens- 
able, what  is  to  become  of  the  Pope  and  his  Government } 
We  have  seen  that  the  view  of  the  French  Emperor  was,  and 
perhaps  still  is,  that  there  should  be  an  agcr  Romanus  conse- 
crated to  his  dominion,  within  which  he  should  preserve  the 
rights  of  a  temporal  prince.    But  we  know  that  the  patrimony 
of  St.  Peter  will  submit  to  the  Pope  and  the  College  of  Cardi- 
nals only  so  long  as  it  is  garrisoned  by  France.    If  the  French 
troops  were  withdrawn,  the  population  of  Rome  would  rise  c?i 
masse  and  proclaim  their  union  with  the  rest  of  Italy.     Victor 
Emmanuel  would  neither  wish  nor  dare  to  say  to  the  Romans 
that  they  alone  of  the  Italians    shall    remain    subject   to    a 
government  which  they  detest,  and  in  the  new  state  of  things 
that  has  arisen,  we  hold  it  to  be  impossible  for  Piedmont  to 
guarantee   any  kind    of  temporal  sovereignty    to   the  Pope. 
The  P>cnch  P^mperor,  again,  has  no  imaginable  right  to  mark 
out  the  limits  within  which  the  struggle  for  a  national  existence 
is  there  to  be  confined.     He  has  assumed  the  part  of  patron 
and   protector   of  the    Pope — and,    availing   himself  of  this 
character,  he  acts  in  Italy  as  if  France  were  an  Italian  Power. 
He  says  to  the  advancing  wave  of  constitutional  monarchy, 
'  Hither  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  farther  ;'  and  nothing  can 
be  more  irritating  and  humiliating  to  a  people  than  the  way 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  105 

in  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  Roman  territory  arc  coerced 
into  obedience  by  the  presence  of  the  French. 

In  some  places,  where  Piedmontese  troops  have  marched 
into  a  town,  and  been  hailed  with  enthusiastic  joy  by  the 
inhabitants  as  their  deliverers,  they  have  been  obliged  to 
retire  to  avoid  a  collision  with  the  advancing  French,  who 
have  extended  their  occupation  as  far  as  Terracina  on  the 
south.  Indeed,  there  is  no  definite  limit  to  which  that 
occupation  is  now  confined,  and  at  any  moment  French 
soldiers  may  be  poured  into  Umbria,  or  the  Marches,  for 
the  purpose  of  restoring  them  to  the  Pope,  with  as  good 
reason  as  the  territory  around  Rome  is  now  held  by  them 
in  subjection  to  him.  But  it  is  not  only  the  Pope  who  is 
patronised  by  the  Emperor.  The  King  of  Naples  confesses 
his  obligations  to  him.  While  professing  absolute  neutrality 
in  the  struggle  in  Southern  Italy,  Napoleon  III.  continues  to 
make  his  presence  there  felt,  and  his  wishes  obeyed.  PVench 
men-of-war  ride  at  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  Gaeta,  and 
the  Sardinian  fleet  is  not  permitted  to  bombard  or  even  to 
blockade  the  fortress  by  sea,  which  a  Sardinian  army  has 
invested,  and  is  attacking  by  land.  We  are  not  therefore 
surprised  at  the  gratitude  expressed  by  M.  Casella,  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  Gaeta,  in  a  note  addressed  by 
him  on  the  12th  of  November  to  the  Neapolitan  Ambassadors 
at  foreign  Courts.  While  Russia,  Austria,  and  England  stand 
aloof,  France  under  a  Napoleon  shows  sympathy  and  friend- 
ship to  a  dynasty  of  Bourbons !  Well  might  M.  Casella 
tender  him  thanks  for  so  seasonable  an  intervention,  which 
stayed  the  downfall  of  the  monarchy,  and  gave  Francis  II. 
one  chance  more  in  the  chapter  of  accidents. 

'The  Emperor  of  the  French,'  he  said,  'alone  (and  it  is  for  us  a  duty  of 
justice  and  gratitude  to  openly  acknowledge  it)  set  the  generous  example  of  a  dis- 
position to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  universal  apathy.  Loyal  and  monarchical 
England  ventured  to  reproach  him  bitterly  for  it,  while  the  other  Cabinets  merely 
allowed  him  to  bear  the  whole  risk  of  the  magnanimous  enterprise  he  contemplated. 
The  sending  of  the  French  squadron  into  the  waters  of  Gaeta,  and  the  fraternal 
reception  given  by  the  soldiers  of  France  to  the  faithful  and  valiant  remnant  of 
the  Royal  troop  on  the  Pontifical  territory,  are  facts  which  will  ever  remain 
graven  on  the  heart  of  the  King  our  Sovereign,  and  far  exceed  the  protestations 
of  friendship  offered  to  His  Majesty  by  the  rest  of  Europe.' 

The  truth  is,  that  France  has  never  really  favoured,  and 
never  can  favour,  the  rise  of  a  great  and  independent  Italian 


io6  ESSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Kingdom,  which  should  assume  its  due  place  in  the  councils  of 
Europe,  and  be  a  formidable   rival  to  France  itself,  in  those 
waters  which  she  would  fain  call  her  own.    France  has  always 
striven  with  Spain  and  Austria  for  influence  and  dominion  in 
Italy  :  she  hoped  to  play  this  game  again,  in  appropriating 
Tuscany ;  and  being  disappointed  in  that  quarter,  she  seems 
to  be  prolonging  the  agony  of  Southern  Italy  with  a  view  to 
throw  things  into  confusion  and  to  prevent  the  new  King  from 
consolidating  his  power.    Thereby,  peradventure,  Naples  may, 
in  some  way,  pass  into  her  hands,  or  come  under  a  French 
ruler.     She  never  wants  a  plausible  pretext  for  interference. 
At  Rome  the  excuse  is  the  protection  of  the  Pope  ;  in  Syria, 
the   protection   of  the    Christians.      But    in    reality   nobody 
imagines  that  the  motive  of  French  intervention  in   Italy  is 
to  uphold  the  temporal  Government  of  the  Holy  See,  or  that 
the  object  of  pouring  troops   into    Syria    is  to  protect  the 
Maronites  and  punish  the  Druses.     Syria  lies  too  close  to 
Turkey  and  to  Egypt  not  to  explain  the  readiness  with  which 
France  seizes  the  opportunity  of  planting  her  foot  there,  and 
the  pertinacity  with  which  she  augments  her  army  of  occupa- 
tion.    How  long  will  it  be  before  we  hear  of  the  revival  of 
the    plan    of    1841,    for    placing    Syria  under  the   Pasha  of 
Egypt  or  some  other  nominee  of  France }     What  means  the 
persistence  with  which  she  clings  to  that  which,  as  regards 
her,  we  can  only  look  at  in  a  political  aspect,   the  project 
of  the  Suez  Canal  1     Is  it    in  the  interest  of  peaceful  com- 
merce, or  with  a  view  to  keep  a   force  there  under  the  guise 
of  engineers  and  workmen,  to   be  employed  when  the  oppor- 
tunity arises   for    the    occupation   of  Egypt  t      Again,    why 
should  France,  which  has  little  or  no  commerce  in  the  Red 
Sea,    or   beyond    it,  be    taking  up    a    position    within    the 
Straits  of  Babplmandeb  }     Algeria  itself  is    a   vast  military 
establishment,  scarcely  to  be  called  a  colony  ;  costly  and  bur- 
densome to  the  nation,  but  a  nursery  of  soldiers — a  means  of 
extending  French  influence   to   Tunis  and   Morocco,  and  not 
likely  to  be  relinquished  while  a  dream  exists  of  the  possi- 
bility  of  converting  the   Mediterranean   into  a  French  lake. 
Spain,  known  to  be  so  deeply  influenced  by  France,  has  re- 
cently been  suspected  of  designs  on  the  Straits,  wholly  incon- 
sistent with  her  promise  to  England,  made   at  the  commence- 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  ITALY.  107 

ment  of  the  late  war  with  Morocco.  Already  twice  since 
the  cession  of  Savoy  and  the  occupation  of  the  neutralised 
districts  of  Chablais  and  Faucigny,  France  has  had  quarrels 
with  Switzerland  for  real  or  imaginary  affronts  to  her  flag  ; 
and  we  know  what  uneasiness  is  felt  throughout  the  Con- 
federation at  the  proximity  of  so  ambitious  and  restless  a 
neighbour.  Well  might  the  Emperor  say  to  Count  Persigny, 
in  his  letter  of  the  25th  of  July,  that  'affairs  appeared  to  him 
to  be  complicated,  thanks  to  the  mistrust  excited  everywhere 
since  the  war  in  Italy,'  and  it  was  not  without  reason  that  he 
volunteered  to  attempt  an  apology  for  his  policy  with  the 
view  of  removing  that  mistrust.  We  are  struck  with  the 
applicability  of  a  description  given  of  France  by  a  traveller 
two  centuries  ago  to  France  of  the  present  day.  He  says, 
'  It  is  manifest  the  chief  designs  of  the  King  or  France  are 
by  a  constant  war,  not  only  to  keep  the  unquiet  spirit  of  his 
own  people  in  action  abroad,  and,  by  being  still  armed,  to 
awe  the  commonalty  and  draw  what  treasures  he  pleases  from 
them,  but  to  make  conquests  upon  the  House  of  Austria  as 
time  and  accidents  afford  best  opportunities  ;  but  it  is  con- 
ceived his  principal  aim  is  at  Flanders  and  some  parts  of 
Germany.'' 

No  doubt  the  Emperor  of  the  French  is  our  ally,  and  has 
lately  given  tokens  of  his  friendship,  not  only  in  committing 
his  fair  Empress  to  our  gallantry,  but  in  abolishing  that  pass- 
port system  which  is  so  detested  in  England  and  so  injurious 
to  French  interests.  No  doubt  also  he  is  willing  to  be  on 
good  terms  with  his  own  people,  for  he  has  initiated  institu- 
tions by  which,  if  really  carried  into  effect,  he  and  they  may 
at  least  hear  each  other's  voices,  and  have  some  chance  of 
understanding  each  other.  But,  nevertheless,  the  mistrust 
which  he  complains  of  has  not  died  away.  We  hear  of  re- 
newed warlike  preparations  in  France — more  extensive,  it  is 
said,  than  in  1859 — of  a  most  formidable  revolutionary  com- 
bination in  Hungary — of  Sardinian  ships  laden  with  muni- 
tions of  war  for  the  Magyars  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Danube,  but  not  until  supplies  of  arms  and  artillery  had  been 
introduced  into  the  countries  lying  on  the  banks  of  that  river. 
But  to  return  to  the  Kingdom   of  Italy :  will  this  great 

'  Sir  Thomas  Hanmer's  '  Account  of  France  in  1648.' 


io8  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

name  become  a  reality,  and  '  Insperata  floruit '  be  written  in 
its  history,  or  will  the  dismal  saying  be  verified,  that  '  the  dry 
wood  will  not  sprout  ? '  What  are  the  forces  that  have  caused 
its  rise  ?  Has  France  made  it,  and  can  France  undo  it, 
or  is  there,  at  length,  after  so  tame  and  so  protracted  a  sub- 
mission to  foreign  masters,  a  revival  of  the  ancient  hardihood 
that  made  Rome  the  mistress  of  Italy  and  of  the  world  ? 
We  know  that  Piedmont  is  being  drained  of  men,  but  we  do 
not  hear  of  any  great  levies  in  other  parts  of  Italy.  And 
if  the  men  of  Italy  have  the  right  qualities,  is  there  any 
common  ground  upon  which  they  can  meet,  and,  with  all  the 
wisdom  and  resolution  of  which  they  are  capable,  take  counsel 
together  for  the  whole  of  Italy  ?  Will  that  which  has  never 
existed  as  a  really  homogeneous  and  consentient  nation  be- 
come such  now  ?  Piedmont,  we  fear,  will  look  down  upon 
Naples,  and  Naples  consider  the  Piedmontese  as  foreign  in- 
vaders :  indeed,  the  Government  of  Naples  (even  if  France 
should  cease  to  intervene  at  Gaeta)  will  be  the  great  difficulty. 
Lombardy,  again,  will  grudge  the  heavy  taxes  of  Piedmont, 
and  Tuscany  may  be  disposed  to  look  back  upon  the  quiet 
days  of  the  Grand  Dukes.  If  all  these  states  can  be  per- 
manently connected  as  one  nation,  in  that  nation  will  many 
elements  of  greatness  be  combined.  It  will  have  the  fine 
genius  of  the  Italians,  endless  physical  advantages  of  climate, 
soil,  and  situation,  and  the  ennobling  memory  of  great  deeds. 
But  the  process  of  amalgamation,  to  be  successful,  must  be 
conducted  in  a  cautious  and  conservative  spirit ;  not  by  insist- 
ing upon  centralisation  and  uniformity  in  all  things — which 
is  opposed  to  the  spirit  and  habits  of  the  Italian  people,  and 
hostile  to  true  liberty  everywhere  — but  by  maintaining  and 
extending  the  admirable  municipal  institutions  which  most  of 
the  Italian  States  already  possess,  and  of  which  they  are 
justly  proud,  and  by  taking  care  that  the  hand  of  the  govern- 
ment shall  not  be  too  much  felt  in  details.  Everything  that 
is  done  by  a  government  for  a  people  which  the  people  are 
ready  and  willing  to  do  for  themselves,  hurts  their  self-love, 
injures  their  capacity  for  exertion,  ami  tends  to  alienate  them 
from  the  ruling  power.  There  are  certain  functions  which 
Piedmont  can  best  perform  for  Italy.  The  army  and  the 
diplomacy  and  the  national  policy  of  Italy  must  be  governed 


THE   KINGDOM   OF  ITALY.  109 

and  conducted  by  the  central  authority,  but  all  the  domestic 
institutions  of  the  different  States  need  not  be  mechanically 
remodelled  after  the  fashion  of  Piedmont.  The  more  haste 
that  is  made  to  effect  a  fusion,  the  less,  chance  there  is  of  a 
firm  and  lasting  combination.  Such  a  combination  of  the 
different  Italian  States,  if  not  wholly  impossible,  can  only  be 
accomplished  very  gradually,  and  by  the  most  patient  and 
skilful  statesmanship.  For  the  happiness  of  the  human  race 
we  wish  that  such  statesmanship  may  be  found.  Our  hopes 
would  be  stronger  than  they  are,  if  recent  events  would  per- 
mit us  to  attribute  to  the  new  rulers  of  Italy  that  high  sense 
of  honour  and  of  public  morality,  which  affords  a  better 
qualification  for  command  than  the  most  consummate  adroit- 
ness in  council  or  courage  in  the  field.  Assuredly  our  hopes 
will  become  faint  indeed,  if  the  new  nation,  instead  of  enter- 
ing the  circle  of  the  European  Powers  in  peace  and  goodwill, 
shall  employ  itself  in  extending  agitation  and  conspiracy,  and 
strive,  in  subservience  to  the  ambition  of  France,  to  effect  its 
own  immediate  object  to  kindling  a  general  war,  from  which, 
whoever  may  be  her  new  masters,  Italy  will  certainly  not 
emerge  independent.  We  earnestly  trust  that  those  to  whom 
the  safety  of  England  is  committed  will  henceforth  carefully 
avoid  compromising  the  name  and  credit  of  this  country,  by 
giving  a  sanction  to  enterprises  with  which  we  have  no  con- 
cern, and  the  ultimate  results  of  which  it  is  impossible  to 
forsee ;  and  that  our  course  will  be  one  of  even  and  impartial 
amity  towards  all  who  desire  our  friendship,  but  of  firm  and 
vigilant  defensive  preparation  against  those  who  may  seek  to 
injure  us,  either  by  direct  attack  or  by  breaking  up  the  great 
European  system,  which,  while  it  was  respected,  secured  so 
many  years  of  peace  and  prosperity  to  all.^ 

'  It  will  be  observed  that  in   this  I  can  only  express  my  joy  that  my  fore- 
article,  written  in  i86i,  I  took  in  some  bodings  have  been  gloriously   falsified 
respects  too  gloomy  a  view  of  the  pros-  by  the  event, 
pects  of  Italian  unity.     Now,  in  1874, 


£SSAyS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE, 


THE   JUDGES  OF  ENGLAND} 

'  Quarterly  Review,'  1866. 

We  congratulate  Mr.  Foss  on  the  completion  of  his  long  and 
arduous  task,  which  he  has  performed  with  the  accuracy  of 
an  historian  and  the  conscientious  industry  of  an  antiquary. 
He  has  produced  a  work  which  is  a  biographical  dictionary  in 
itself,  containing  not  less  than  1589  lives.  We  confess  that 
when  we  first  saw  the  announcement  of  his  intention  to  write 
the  lives  of  air  the  Judges,  we  had  some  misgivings  as  to  the 
success  of  his  plan.  Lord  Chancellors  and  Chief  Justices  are 
men  who  occupy  so  prominent  a  position  that  their  career 
is  often  interwoven  with  the  history  of  their  country  ;  and 
some  of  them,  like  Glanville,  Bacon,  Coke,  Clarendon,  Hale, 
Somers,  Holt,  Hardwicke,  Mansfield,  Erskine,  Eldon,  have 
left  behind  them  an  imperishable  name.  But  of  the  puisnes 
the  great  mass  were  mere  lawyers,  whose  lives,  even  if  there 
were  materials  for  writing  them,  must  be  as  dull  and  unevent- 
ful as  those  of  town-clerks  or  aldermen.  What  could  be  said 
that  would  be  worth  the  telling  .''  Immersed  in  the  routine 
of  their  daily  duties — oracles  of  the  common  law,  but  un- 
tinctured  by  scholarship  and  unilluminated  by  genius — they 
impressed  no  mark  on  their  day  and  generation,  and  passed 
noiselessly  away  ;  with  nothing  to  commemorate  their  ex- 
istence except  perhaps  a  pompous  epitaph  in  some  village 
church,  which  attests  how  learned  a  lawyer  and  how  forgotten 

'  I.    The  Judges  of  England ;   with  and    Solicitor    Generals    of  each   reign 

Miscellaneons  Notices  connected  tvith  the  from  the  Institution  of  those  Offices.     To 

Courts  at  Westminster,  from   the  time  of  ivhich  is  prefixed  an  Alphabetical  List  of 

the  Conquest  to  the  Present   Time.      By  all  the  Judges  during  the  same  period, 

Edward    Foss,    F.S.A.,    of   the    Inner  distinguishing  the  Jx'eigns  in  which  they 

Temple.      9  vols.  8vo.      London,  1864.  flourished,  and  the  Courts  in  which  they 

2.    Tabid(C   Curiales;  or,    Tables   of  sat.     15y  Edward  Foss,  F.  S.A.,  Author 

the  Superior  Courts  of  Westminster  Hall.  of  '  The  Judges  of  England.'     London, 

Shozving  the  Judges  who   sat   in    them  1864. 
from    1066  to  1864;  7oith  the  Attorney 


THE  JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  m 

an  individual  sleeps  below.  Still,  however,  there  is  a  natural 
curiosity  to  know  all  that  can  be  told  of  our  fellow  men.  It 
has  been  said  that  no  man's  life  is  so  insignificant  as  not  to 
be  interesting  in  some  degree  to  others  ;  and  we  agree  with 
Mr.  Foss,  when,  speaking  of  the  description  given  by  For- 
tescue,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.,  of  the  mode  of  appointing 
the  Judges,  he  says  : — 

When  we  recollect  that  this  is  not  the  description  of  a  new  institution,  but 
one  which  at  the  time  it  was  written  had  already  existed  more  than  two  centuries  ; 
and  when  we  see,  after  the  lapse  of  an  additional  four  hundred  years,  that  the 
old  practice  prevails  at  the  present  hour  without  any  essential  alteration  ;  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  be  interested  in  the  account  thus  given  by  an  eye-witness  ;  and  the 
reader  can  scarcely  be  chargeable  with  romantic  feelings  if  he  acknowledges  a 
degree  of  veneration  towards  a  body  with  so  ancient  a  pedigree,  and  the  learning, 
integrity,^  and  firmness  of  which  have  been  rendered  even  brighter  and  more 
apparent  by  contrast  with  the  failings  of  a  few  of  its  members,  who  at  intervals 
during  the  course  of  ages  have  disgraced  their  position. 

But  the  difficulty  was  how  to  get  the  materials  for  an  account 
of  these  ordinary  men,  when  the  records  even  of  the  greatest 
events  that  happened  during  the  earlier  reigns  of  the  Norman 
and  Plantagenet  Kings  are  so  scanty.  And  a  great  number 
of  the  old  Judges  no  doubt  must  be  and  are  dismissed  with 
the  briefest  and  driest  mention  of  their  names  and  the  offices 
they  held,  with  the  dates  of  their  appointment.  But  even 
with  regard  to  these,  it  is  interesting  to  see  the  mode  in  which 
Mr.  Foss  has  been  able  to  fix  and  verify  dates.  Nearly  one 
hundred  and  fifty  charters  are  collected  in  the  Monasticon,  to 
which  the  names  of  Chancellors  are  attached.  *  Some  of  these,' 
says  Mr.  Foss,  '  are  dated  ;  and  the  dates  of  the  others  may 
be  discovered  with  sufficient  nearness  from  the  witnesses  who 
attest  them  ;  so  that  a  diligent  inquirer,  even  without  other 
aid,  may  make  a  considerable  advance  in  ascertaining  the 
order  of  their  succession,  and  in  connection  with  other  known 
facts,  almost  the  date  of  their  appointments.' 

It  must  indeed  have  been  a  task  of  no  ordinary  difficulty 
to  obtain  correct  information  as  to  the  career  of  men  so  many 
of  whom  are  now  utterly  unknown.  But  we  are  bound  to  say 
that  Mr.  Foss  seems  to  have  left  no  stone  unturned  in  his 
patient  and  exhaustive  search.  Every  possible  source  of  in- 
formation has  been  laid  under  contribution.  Charters  and 
deeds,  and  rolls  and  fines,  family  archives  and  monuments 
and  tombstones,  have  all  been  ransacked  by  him  with  as  much 


112  ASSAYS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

diligence  as  if  he  were  investigating  great  problems  of  history  ; 
and  sometimes  we  are  disposed  to  regret  that  such  industry 
and  acuteness  have  been  lavished  upon  subjects  where  the 
value  of  the  result  bears  so  little  proportion  to  the  zeal  of  the 
inquiry.  But  whatever  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well ;  and 
accuracy  in  small  matters  is  a  guarantee  for  accuracy  in  things 
of  greater  moment.  The  man  who  hunts  out  a  date  in  the 
nooks  and  corners  of  obscure  records  and  mouldering  parch- 
ments with  as  much  eagerness  as  a  Dutch  burgomaster,  ac- 
cording to  Sydney  Smith,  hunts  out  a  rat  in  a  dyke  lest  it 
should  flood  a  province,  is  not  likely  to  take  facts  on  trust, 
and  make  scissors  and  paste  supply  the  place  of  a  critical 
examination  of  original  authorities. 

The  plan  adopted  is,  we  think,  judicious  and  convenient, 
Each  reign  is  kept  separate  and  distinct,  and  the  lives  of  the 
Judges  who  flourished  under  each  monarch  are  arranged 
alphabetically  ;  but  where  Judges  sat  on  the  bench  during 
more  than  one  reign,  their  lives  are  given  in  the  last  ;  while 
the  office  they  severally  held,  and  the  year  of  their  appoint- 
ment, appear  in  due  order  in  each  reign  of  their  career.  To 
the  commencement  of  each  reign  there  is  prefixed  a  '  survey  of 
the  reign,'  containing  a  description  of  the  nature  and  progress 
of  each  court,  and  of  the  officers  of  the  various  departments, 
with  short  accounts  of  the  Inns  of  Court  and  Chancery,  and 
their  origin  ;  of  the  Serjeants  and  other  advocates ;  and  of  the 
reporters  and  legal  writers  ;  '  adding  whatever  appeared  in- 
teresting in  the  history  of  the  time  as  connected  with  the 
judicature  of  the  country,  and  collecting  such  illustrative 
anecdotes  of  Westminster  Hall  as  seemed  to  demand  a  place.' 
Mr.  Foss  modestly  disclaims  any  attempt  to  record  the  his- 
tory of  the  law  itself,  and  pleads  his  incapacity  for  such  a 
task:  but  we  think  he  has  underrated  his  powers.  His  work 
contains  a  great  deal  of  valuable  matter,  which  elucidates  the 
history  of  the  law ;  and  he  pursues  the  inquiries  in  such  an 
intelligent  and  searching  spirit,  with  such  a  resolute  determi- 
nation to  spare  no  trouble  in  arriving  at  the  truth,  and  with 
such  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  subject,  that  we  believe 
few  writers  are  better  qualified  to  trace  the  progress  of  English 
law  through  all  its  mazy  channels  from  the  Norman  Conquest 
to  the  present  day. 


THE   JUDGES   OE  ENGLAND.  113 

Before  we  deal  with  the  Lives,  properly  so  called,  we  will 
say  a  few  words,  in  no  very  definite  order,  upon  some  of  what 
may  be  called  the  antiquarian  questions  of  the  law,  which  Mr. 
F"oss  has  discussed  with  great  learning  and  acuteness. 

He  shows,  with  every  appearance  of  probability,  that 
there  were  originally  only  three  Law  Terms — those  of  Hilary, 
Easter,  and  Trinity ;  and  that  which  we  now  call  Michaelmas 
Term  was  altogether  excluded  as  a  distinct  and  separate 
division,  the  whole  of  it  being  comprehended  in  the  third  or 
Trinity  term.  Amongst  other  proofs  we  have  this  :  that  the 
Curia  Regis,  as  we  know,  followed  the  King's  movements, 
and  was  held  when  he  happened  to  hold  his  Court,  or,  as  it 
was  called,  'wore  his  Crown.'  Now,  there  were  three  special 
periods  of  the  year  in  which  William  the  Conqueror  and  his 
immediate  successors  'wore  their  Crown,'  namely,  at  Christ- 
mas, Easter,  and  Whitsuntide,  and  never  at  or  about  the  time 
of  Michaelmas.  No  means  now  exist  for  determining  the 
precise  period  when  the  change  took  place  ;  but  Mr.  Foss 
thinks  that  it  was  dictated  by  the  nature  of  the  agricultural 
employments  of  the  people  : — 

At  some  period  between  May  31  and  November  2§,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
relieve  the  people  from  their  attendance  for  the  purpose  of  their  collecting  the  hay 
and  com  harvests  ;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  there  was  a  regular  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Court  while  they  were  thus  employed  in  getting  in  the  fruits  of  the 
earth.  Such  an  adjournment  would  be  attended  with  little  inconvenience  to  the 
suitors,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  there  was  in  those  times  sufficient  business  to 
occupy  so  long  a  period  as  that  which  had  been  appropriated  to  legal  aiTairs. 

Another  reason  for  adjourning  to  Michaelmas  was  that 
the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties  who  were  collectors  of  the 
royal  rents,  and  the  other  debtors  of  the  Crown,  were  called 
upon  to  give  in  their  accounts  half-yearly,  at  Easter  and 
Michaelmas,  in  that  branch  of  the  Curia  Regis  called  the 
Scaccarium  or  Exchequer,  where  the  same  Judges  and  officers 
sat  on  these  occasions  of  accounting  as  in  the  principal  Court. 

The  three  Courts  of  King's  Bench,  Exchequer,  and  Com- 
mon T^leas,  had  been  formed  out  of  the  old  Curia  Regis 
before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Henry  HL,  but  for  some  time 
afterwards  the  precise  duties  of  each  were  not  clearly  defined. 
And  even  under  the  reign  of  Edward  L  it  is  not  in  all  cases 
possible  to  distinguish  to  which  Court  the  different  Judges 
belong.     There  is  clear  evidence  that  common  pleas  still  con- 

I 


114  ESSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

tinued  to  be  heard  in  the  Exchequer,  notwithstanding  re- 
peated prohibitions  by  statutes  and  by  royal  ordinances.  The 
title  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  was,  according  to 
Dugdale,  first  used  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  when  Gilbert 
de  Preston  filled  the  office  ;  and  Walter  de  Norwich  who  was 
appointed  a  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  in  131 1,  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  II.,  seems  to  have  been  the  first  who  was  styled 
Chief  Baron,  although  Dugdale  applies  the  term  to  William 
de  Carlton  in  the  31st  year  of  Edward  I.,  and  some  authors 
so  designate  Adam  de  Stratton,  who  was  disgraced  and  fined 
a  few  years  earlier.  Mr.  Foss,  however,  show^s  that  these  are 
mistakes. 

The  time  when  the  division  of  the  Courts  of  Common 
Law  first  took  place,  a  subject  on  which  legal  antiquaries 
have  long  difi'ered,  is  discussed  by  Mr.  Foss  with  great  care 
and  ability ;  but  we  have  not  space  for  his  arguments,  and 
can  only  state  the  conclusions  at  which  he  arrives.  He  dis- 
sents from  the  opinion  of  Sir  Edward  Coke,  that  the  Common 
Pleas,  as  a  separate  Court,  was  erected  before  Magna  Carta, 
and  holds,  with  Lord  Bacon,  that  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
was  not  divided  from  the  principal  Court  until  after  the  Charter 
of  John. 

The  progi-ess  Avith  regard  to  civil  suits  seems  to  have  been  this.  At  the  time 
of  the  Conquest  the  ordinary  and  regular  place  for  their  trial  was  the  Sherift's 
Court.  They  were  there  allowed,  on  the  payment  of  a  fine,  to  be  removed  into 
the  Curia  Regis  ;  but  this  was  a  privilege  which  at  first  could  only  be  claimed  by 
a  few.  Gradually,  however,  the  advantages  of  having  Judges  who  had  no  local 
prejudices  was  felt,  and  the  practice  became  common.  The  business  of  the  Curia 
Regis  consequently  increased  so  much  that  in  the  first  place  itinera  or  circuits 
were  appointed  to  relieve  it,  to  try  common  j^leas,  as  well  as  pleas  of  the  Crown 
in  the  counties  where  the  differences  arose ;  and  next,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
nominate  legally-educated  men  to  take  thoserduties  at  the  principal  Court,  which, 
from  other  occupations  and  the  increased  complexity  of  the  proceedings,  the  barons, 
who  were  the  original  administrators  of  the  law  in  the  Curia  Regis,  were  no 
longer  competent  to  perform. 

Up  to  the  36th  year  of  Edward  III.  the  pleadings  in  the 
Courts  were  carried  on  in  Norman-French.  But  the  people 
naturally  complained  of  this.  They  said  that  their  rights  and 
liberties  and  lives  were  subject  to  laws  which  they  could  not 
understand  ;  and  they  knew  not  what  was  said  either  for  or 
against  them  '  by  their  Serjeants  or  other  pleaders.'  A  .statute 
was  therefore  passed,  in  1362,  which  enacted  that  all  pleas 


THE  JUDGES  OE  ENGLAND.  115 

should  be  pleaded,  defended,  debated,  and  judged  in  the 
English  tongue,  but  that  they  should  be  entered  and  enrolled 
in  Latin.  Nothing,  indeed,  could  be  more  barbarous  than  the 
language  used  in  the  Courts  of  Law.  In  the  preface  to  the 
*  Year  Books''  of  Edward  L,  which  have  been  ably  edited  by 
Mr.  Horwood  as  part  of  the  series  published  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  the  editor  says  :  *  That  the 
Norman-French  was  not  the  mother  tongue  of  the  pleaders 
will  (it  is  thought)  be  the  conclusion  of  the  reader.  An  ex- 
amination of  their  phrases  seems  to  show  that  they  thought 
in  English,  and  clothed  English  ideas  and  sentences  with 
foreign  words.'  And  the  practice  of  jumbling  together  French, 
Latin,  and  English,  in  pleadings  and  indictments,  continued 
until  a  comparatively  recent  period.  During  the  Protectorate 
of  Cromwell  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  introduction  of  the 
English  language  into  the  pleadings,  but  at  the  Restoration, 
although  all  proceedings  in  private  causes  which  had  been 
commenced  since  the  death  of  Charles  L  were  legalised,  that 
Act  was  limited  in  duration  to  August  i,  1660.  After  that 
period,  as  Mr.  Foss  observes,  *  the  absurd  use  of  "an  unknown 
tongue"  was  renewed,  and  continued  to  be  employed  for 
seventy  years  longer,  till  in  the  reign  of  George  IL  English 
was  again  substituted  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  and  liti- 
gants were  permitted  to  understand  the  allegations  for  and 
against  them.'  To  give  an  idea  of  the  jargon  of  legal  lan- 
guage in  old  times  we  will  quote  the  following  from  the  mar- 
ginal notes  of  Chief  Justice  Treby  to  '  Dyer's  Reports  :' — 

Richardson  C.  B.  de  C.  B.  at  Assizes  at  Salisbury  in  summer  1631  fuit  assault 
per  Prisoner  la  condemne  pur  Felony; — que  puis  son  condemnation  ject  un 
Brickbat  a  le  dit  Justice,  que  narrowly  mist.  Et  pur  ceo  immediately  fuit  Indict- 
ment drawn  pur  Noy  envers  le  Prisoner,  et  son  dexter  manus  ampute  et  fixe  al 
Gibbet  sur  que  luy  mesme  immediatement  hange  in  presence  de  Court. 

The  Chief  Justiciary,  or  Justiciarius  Angliae,  was  the  chief 
officer  next  the  King  in  the  Curia  Regis,  '  In  the  Sovereign's 
absence,'  says  Mr.  Foss,  '  he  presided  there  in  all  criminal  and 
civil  causes,  and  also  in  the  Exchequer,  having  by  virtue  of 
his  office  the  principal  management  of  the  royal  revenue  ;  and 

'  We  are  glad  to  see  that  the  evil  a  new  and  better  series  of  them  estab- 

of  the  multifarious  contemporaneous  re-  lished,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Coun- 

ports  with  which  law  and  lawyers  were  cil  of  Law  Reporting, 
tormented  is  likely  to  be  got  rid  of,  and 

1  2 


ii6  £SSAKS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

\\\  addition  to  tliis,  the  entire  government  of  the  State  was 
entrusted  to  him,  as  Regent,  when  the  King  was  absent  from 
the  realm.  After  a  period  of  two  hundred  }'ears,  this  officer 
was  discontinued  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  when  his  prin- 
cipal judicial  duties  were  transferred  to  the  Chief  Justice  of 
the  King's  Bench.'  The  title  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's 
Bench  was  not  given  to  the  head  of  the  King's  Court  until 
1268,  in  the  52nd  year  of  Henry  HI.,  when  a  salary  of  one 
hundred  marks  was  assigned  to  the  office,  although  a  yearly 
allowance  of  one  thousand  marks  had  been  formerly  granted 
to  the  Chief  Justiciaries. 

All  who  have  attended  the  Courts  at  Westminster  must 
have  observed  the  massive  gold  chain  worn  round  the  neck  by 
each  of  the  chiefs  of  those  Courts,  and  perhaps  remarked  the 
letters  S.S.,  which  form  its  distinctive  ornament.  The  mean- 
ing and  origin  of  these  letters  are  lost  in  obscurity,  and  anti- 
quaries have  puzzled  their  brains  in  vain  to  give  a  satisfactory 
explanation.  Indeed  it  has  been  doubted  whether  they  are 
letters  at  all,  or  merely  links  of  the  chain  accidentally  formed 
in  that  shape.  We  will  not  go  through  the  various  conjec- 
tures which  have  been  hazarded  on  the  subject,  but  content 
ourselves  with  saying  that  we  are  by  no  means  satisfied  with 
that  of  Mr.  Foss,  who  is  inclined  to  adopt  the  opinion  that 
the  S.  stands  for  Soiivencz,  and  has  come  down  to  us  from 
the  old  days  of  romance  when  emblems  were  placed  on 
collars  to  express  some  sentiment,  or  as  the  abbreviation  of  a 
motto.  Mr.  Foss  declares  that  no  authentic  trace  of  the  S.S. 
chain  has  been  found  on  the  monument  of  any  Chief  Justice 
until  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  That  of  the  present  learned 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  is  said  to  have  been  worn 
by  Sir  Edward  Coke.  Lord  Ellenborough  had  the  one  which 
adorned  the  neck  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  but  kept  it  on  his 
retirement  in  18 18.  Lord  Denman  gave  his  to  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Derby,  *  w^hose  Mayors  will  thus  in  future  be  decorated 
with  the  livery  collar  of  the  Earl  who  took  his  title  from  that 
town,  and  who  as  Henry  IV.  first  attached  it  as  a  mark  of 
honour  to  the  members  of  the  royal  household.'  Lord  Camp- 
bell bought  and  kept  his  chain  ;  and  the  present  Lord  Chief 
Justice  of  England  wears  a  new  one  purchased  by  himself. 

The  Chancellor,  Canccllarius  Regis,  was  another  officer  of 


THE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  117 

the  Curia  Regis,  but  at  first  his  rank  was  very  inferior  to  that 
which  he  afterwards  attained.  He  probably  acted  as  a  kind 
of  secretary,  and  this  rendered  it  almost  necessary  that  he 
should  be  an  ecclesiastic,  for  few  except  the  clergy  in  those 
days  could  read  or  write.  The  Barons  of  the  realm  were  like 
the  children  of  the  Black  Douglas  : 

Thanks  to  St.  Bothan,  son  of  mine, 
Save  Gawain,  ne'er  could  pen  a  line. 

It  was  his  province  to  prepare  the  various  writs  and  precepts 
that  issued  out  of  the  Curia  Regis,  and  to  supervise  the  royal 
charters  and  grants  to  which  the  King's  seal  was  attached. 
The  seal  itself  was  kept  in  his  custody,  or  at  least  under  his 
direction.  The  earliest  example  of  this  was  thought  to  be  a 
'  Charter  of  Confirmation  to  the  Abbey  of  Westminster, 
quoted  by  Dugdale,  and  preserved  in  the  British  Museum 
with  the  seal  of  the  Conqueror,  and  the  words,  Mmiritiiis 
Regis  Canccllarius  relegit  et  sigilldvit  attached.  But  Mr.  Foss 
says  that  this  charter  is  now  declared  to  be  a  forgery.  The 
allowance  to  the  Chancellor  was  originally  five  shillings  a  day; 
a  simncl  (a  sort  of  sweet  bread  or  cake)  and  two  seasoned 
simnels  ;  one  sextary  of  clear  wine,  and  one  sextary  of  house- 
hold wine  ;  one  large  candle,  and  forty  pieces  of  candle. 

We  have  no  information  as  to  the  mode  in  which  a  mere 
clerk  or  secretary  began  to  exercise  judicial  functions  until  at 
last  he  became  a  High  Ofiicer  of  State,  but  most  probably 
questions  would  arise  before  him  as  to  the  form  of  the  WTits 
which  he  was  called  upon  to  issue,  and  the  grants  and  charters 
he  had  to  prepare,  so  that  he  gradually  assumed  the  functions 
of  a  judge.  In  the  prologue  to  '  The  Life  of  Saint  Thomas 
(Becket),  Archbishop  and  Martyr,'  by  William  Fitz-Stephen, 
the  biographer  informs  us  that  '  he  was  one  of  Becket 's  clerks 
and  an  inmate  in  his  family,  and  as  by  express  invitation  I 
was  called  to  his  service,  I  became  a  remembrancer  in  his 
Chancery,  a  sub-deacon  in  his  chapel  whenever  he  celebrated, 
and  tvhcu  he  sat  to  hear  and  determine  causes,  a  reader  of  the 
bills  and  petitions  ;  and  sometimes  when  he  was  pleased  to 
order  it,  I  even  performed  the  office  of  an  advocate.'  But  it 
would  not  be  right  to  infer  from  this  that  the  Chancellor  had 
at  that  time  any  separate  jurisdiction.     The  place  of  business 


ii8       jESSAvs  critical  and  narrative. 

which  is  styled  cancdlaria  was  not  a  court,  but  an  office  or 
bureau ;  and  the  description  of  Becket  as  a  judge  relates  to 
the  time  of  his  archiepiscopate.     This  appears  from  the  pre- 
vious mention  of  Fitz-Stephen's  assisting  at  his  celebration  of 
mass  (for  the  points  of  connexion  with  his  master  are  men- 
tioned in  the  order  of  time,  and  it  was  only  on  the  day  before 
his    consecration    as    archbishop  that   Becket    received   the 
priestly   ordination  which   qualified   him   to   celebrate);    and 
also  from  the  biographer's  speaking  of  himself  as  pleading 
causes,  which  clergymen  were  forbidden  to  do  in  any  other 
than  ecclesiastical  courts.     On  the  other  hand,  the  statement 
of  some  writers  that  Becket  was  much  employed  '  in  causis 
perorandis  et  decidendis '  (Roger,  in   Migne,  cxc.  6r  ;  Joh. 
Sarisb.  ib.  147  ;  Wendover,  ii.  293)  belongs  to  a  time  before 
his  appointment  to  the  chancellorship — while  he  was  yet  a 
member  of  Theobald's  household,  and   took  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  archiepiscopal  court.     (And  see  Lord  Camp- 
bell's '  Lives  of  Chancellors,'  ed.  3,  i.  4 ;  Foss,  i.  14.)     The 
title  of  Lord  Chancellor  seems  to  have  been  first  introduced 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  II.,  he  having  been  previously  called 
Cancellarius  Regis  :  and  on  two  occasions  he  is  styled  Anglic^ 
Cancellarius.     But  he  still  remained   the  head  of  the  King's 
Chapel,  •  Chef  de  la  Chapele  nostre  Seignour  le  Roy.' 

When  the  King  went  abroad,  as  was  so  often  the  case 
while  the  English  Crown  had  dominions  in  France,  he  used 
to  take  the  Great  Seal  with  him,  and  another  seal  was  given 
to  the  Chancellor  to  use  until  the  King's  return.  Thus,  when 
Edward  I.  went  to  Flanders,  in  1297,  the  Chancellor  delivered 
to  him  the  Great  Seal  at  Winchelsea,  in  a  ship  called  the 
'Cog^  Edward,'  and  Prince  Edward,  who  acted  as  Regent 
during  his  father's  absence,  gave  the  Chancellor  another  seal, 
which  was  restored  to  the  King  '  at  his  bedside '  on  his  return. 
When  the  office  of  Chancellor  was  vacant,  it  seems  to  have 
been  the  custom  to  deposit  the  seal  in  the  custody  of  persons 
selected  by  the  King.  In  1302,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  it 
was  delivered  to  three  officers,  to  be  kept  under  their  seals 
until  the  King  .should  provide  himself  with  a  Chancellor. 
One  of  these  was  Adam  de  Osgodby,  the  Master  or  Keeper 
of  the  Rolls,  which  is  the  first  time  that  thc-^t  officer  was  co 

'  Cockboat. 


THE  JUDGES  OF  ENGLAND.  119 

nomine  appointed  to  act  in  such  acapacity.^  Former  writers 
have  assumed  that  the  persons  with  whom  the  seal  was  thus 
deposited  were  what  are  technically  called  Keepers  of  the  Great 
Seal.  But  Mr.  Foss  satisfactorily  proves  that  some  of  them 
were  merely  keepers  or  other  officers  of  the  Wardrobe,  the 
usual  place  of  custody  for  the  seal,  and  that  they  had  no  power 
to  use  it  in  any  way.  The  others  were  clerks  in  the  Chancery, 
who  were  on  most  of  these  occasions  entrusted  with  the  minis- 
terial duties  of  the  office. 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  there  were  tivo  Chancellors 
acting  at  the  same  time — Alcock,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  and 
Rotheram,  Bishop  of  Lincoln — which  Mr.  Foss  accounts  for 
by  the  preparations  the  King  was  making  for  the  invasion  of 
France,  where  he  wished  a  Chancellor  to  accompany  him. 
The  custom  had  been  on  such  occasions  to  appoint  a  tem- 
porary Keeper  of  the  Seal,  '  but  now,  perhaps  because  Bishop 
Alcock  was  a  favourite,  whom  the  King  wished  to  honour 
with  a  higher  designation,  the  unusual  course  was  adopted  of 
appointing  him  Chancellor,  without  superseding  Bishop  Ro- 
theram, and  several  bills  are  addressed  to  him  with  that  title 
in  the  Rolls  of  Court,' 

Mr.  Foss  revels  in  the  various  descriptions  of  the  Great 
Seal  at  different  times,  and  the  increasing  splendour  of  the 
bag  in  which  it  was  carried,  until  it  culminated  in  its  present 
costly  embroidery,  which,  it  seems,  was  due  to  the  '  ostenta- 
tious magnificence '  of  Cardinal  Wolsey.  He  hints,  however, 
a  doubt  whether  the  gilt  mace  carried  before  the  Chancellor 
—the  origin  of  which  he  is  inclined  to  attribute  to  the  proud 
churchman's  love  of  processional  pageantry  —  was  carried 
before  him  as  chancellor,  or  solely  as  legate  and  cardinal,  and 
we  confess  we  are  unable  to  solve  the  important  problem. 
We  may  here  mention  that  the  Great  Seal  is  not  in  truth 
carried  about  in  these  days  in  the  bag  or  purse  in  which  it  is 
theoretically  supposed  to  be  kept.  In  fact,  it  is  never  put 
into  the  purse  except  on  two  occasions,  viz.  when  it  is  re- 

>  The  title   of   '  Custos   Rotulorum  person  who  held  that  office.     As  in  the 

Cancellaria;  domini  Regis  '   is  attached  appointment  of  Adam  de  Osgodby,   in 

for  the  first  time  to  the  name  of  John  1295,  the  custody  of  the  Rolls  was  given 

de  Langton,  in  an  entry  in  the  Patent  to  him  in  the  same  manner,  '  Quo  alii 

Roll  of  14  Edward  I.,  1286;  but  Mr.  custodes  earn  habere  consueverunt  tem- 

Foss  shows  that  he  was  not  the  first  paribus  retroactis.' 


I20  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

ceived  from  the  Queen,  and  when  it  is  deHvered  up  to  her. 
At  other  times  the  Great  Seal  reposes  in  a  small  plain  green 
leather  box,  the  key  of  which  the  Lord  Chancellor  alone 
has,  and  the  Great  Seal  should  always  be  where  he  is.  The 
quantity  of  wax  now  required  for  one  year's  consumption  in 
sealing  Patents  for  inventions  alone  is  upwards  of  i  ton 
2  cwts. 

Although  the  term  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  was  used  as 
early  as  the  reign  of  Henry  I.,  it  was  then  applied  solely  to 
the  barons  of  the  realm,  who  also  performed  the  functions  of 
judges.  It  was  not  until  the  eighteenth  year  of  Henry  HI. 
that  this  title  was  given  to  private  individuals  selected  for  that 
.special  duty.  But  it  seems  that  even  at  a  later  period,  the 
Chief  Baron  was  not  necessarily  a  lawyer,  for  the  statute  of 
Nisi  Prius,  14  Edward  HI.,  c.  16,  enacts  'that  if  it  happen 
that  none  of  the  Justices  of  the  one  Bench  nor  the  other  come 
into  the  country,  then  the  Nisi  Prius  shall  be  granted  before 
the  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  if  he  be  a  man  of  the  lazv! 

In  the  fifth  year  of  Richard  II.,  the  Commons  petitioned  the 
Crown  that  in  future  no  one  should  be  made  a  Baron  of  the 
Exchequer  unless  he  were  a  man  well  learned  in  the  common 
law,  or  otherwise  in  the  legal  courses  and  usuages  of  the  Ex- 
chequer. But  this  prayer  seems  to  have  been  disregarded. 
At  all  events,  the  position  of  the  puisne  barons  was  greatly 
inferior  to  that  of  the  other  judges.  Even  up  to  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  they  were  not  previously  made  Serjeants ;  they 
Avere  not  included  in  the  summonses  to  Parliament,  nor  were 
they  privileged  like  the  judges  to  have  chaplains.  Robert 
Shute,  who  was  made  a  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  in  1579,  was 
the  first  Serjeant  who  was  raised  to  the  Bench  as  a  puisne 
baron,  and  in  his  patent  it  is  ordered  that  '  he  shall  be  reputed 
to  be  of  the  same  order,  rank,  estimation,  dignity,  and  pre- 
eminence, to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  any  puisne  judge  of 
cither  of  the  two  other  Courts.' 

As  the  proceedings  in  the  Curia  Regis  were  carried  on  in 
a  foreign  tongue,  either  Norman,  h^xnch,  or  Latin,  the  parties 
engaged  in  causes  were  obliged  to  employ  persons  who  were 
familiar  with  the  language  of  the  court.  These  were  called 
contcurs,  or  in  Latin  Jiarratorcs,  and  none  others  were  allowed 
to  be  heard.     Their  office  was  a  'Serjoanty'  and  they  were 


THE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  121 

appointed  by  a  royal  mandate,  or  writ,  the  form  of  which  was 

continued  when  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  established, 

and  has  remained   substantially  the  same  to  the  present  day 

in  the  case  of  all  barristers  who  are  called  to  the  degree  of  the 

coif.     The  origin  of  this  professional  badge  Mr.  Foss  states  to 

be  as  follows  : — 

Few  men  in  those  ages  were  learned  in  the  laws  except  the  clergy,  who  were 
bound  by  their  order  to  shave  their  heads.  The  serjeant-counters  being  originally 
part  of  this  body  were,  of  course,  obliged  to  follow  the  rule :  but  for  '  decency 
and  comeliness,'  or  rather  perhaps,  for  warmth,  were  by  degrees  allowed  to 
cover  their  baldness  with  a  wig.  This  was  at  first  a  thin  hair  cover,  gathered 
together  in  the  form  of  a  skull  or  helmet,  the  material  being  afterwards  changed 
into  white  silk,  and  the  form  eventually  into  the  black  patch  at  the  top  of  the 
forensic  wig,  which  is  the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  degree. 

Some  of  these  ancient  barristers  seem  to  have  set  a  bad 
example,  if  we  ma}'  judge  from  the  following  anecdotes.  In 
the  fifty-second  year  of  Henry  III.,  as  Robert  de  Fulham, 
'Justice  of  the  Jews,  was  going  to  Westminster  Hall,  Robert 
de  Colevill,  "  narrator  de  Banco,"  laid  violent  hands  on  him, 
taking  him  by  the  breast.  The  contumacious  barrister  was 
brought  before  the  Barons  of  the  Exchequer  and  "Justices  of 
the  Bench  then  sitting  in  the  Exchequer,"  with  his  tunic 
ungirt,  and  his  head  uncovered,  and  making  a  lowly  submis- 
sion to  the  pleasure  of  the  court,  his  offence  was  pardoned, 
and  he  was  admitted  ad  oscidiim,  "  the  kiss  of  peace."  ' 

In  34  Edward  I.,  Roger  de  Hegham,  a  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  complained 
that,  having  pronounced  a  judgment  against  William  de  Brevi'cs,  the  said  William 
contemptuously  mounted  the  bar,  and,  with  gross  and  bitter  words,  called  in 
question  the  said  judgment,  and  afterwards  insulted  the  Judge  as  he  was  passing 
from  the  Court.  Whereupon  the  King,  after  alluding  to  his  having  dismissed  his 
son,  Edward  Prince  of  Wales,  from  his  house  for  nearly  half  a  year  for  some  out- 
rage towards  the  King's  officers,  ordered  that  William  de  Brewes,  with  his  body 
ungu't,  his  head  uncovered,  and  his  coif  laid  aside,  should  go  from  the  King's 
Bench  at  Westminster  through  the  middle  of  the  Hall,  when  the  Court  was  full, 
to  the  Exchequer,  and  there  ask  Roger  de  Hegham's  pardon  and  apologise  for  his 
offence  to  him  ;  and  that  for  the  contempt  done  to  the  King  and  his  Court,  he 
should  be  committted  to  the  Tower,  there  to  remain  at  the  will  of  the  King. 

The  clergy,  of  course,  were  the  persons  most  likely  to 
possess  the  qualifications  for  this  office,  and  some  of  them  were 
noted  for  their  knowledge  of  the  law.  In  the  great  cause  in 
the  reign  of  the  Conqueror  between  Lanfranc,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  the  King's  brother,  Odo,  Bishop  of  Bayeux, 
respecting  some  manors  belonging  to  the  Archbishopric  which 
Odo  had  seized,  and  which  was  tried  before  Geoffrey,  Bishop 


122  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

of  Coustances,  at  a  shiremote  on  Penendon  Heath,  Agelric, 
the  venerable  Bishop  of  Chichester,  was  by  the  King's  com- 
mand brought  to  the  Heath  in  a  chariot  to  instruct  the  judges 
in  the  ancient  laws  and  customs  of  the  realm. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  another  itinerant 
Court  was  erected,  the  judges  of  which  were  called  Justices  of 
Trailbaston,  for  the  origin  of  which  term  various  explanations 
have  been  offered.  Nicolas  Trivet  in  his  '  Annals '  says,  that 
the  name  was  given  them  by  the  people,  because  it  means 
trahc  baculnm,  which  Holinshed  translates  '  traile  or  draw  the 
staff.'  Hence  it  has  been  supposed  that  these  justices  were 
so  styX^A  from  trailing  tJic  staff  of  justice.  Sir  Edward  Coke, 
who  was  about  the  worst  etymologist  in  the  world,  declares 
that  they  were  so  called  from  the  rapidity  of  their  proceedings, 
which  equalled  that  of  a  blow  with  a  baton — a  singular  ex- 
ception to  the  tardy  course  of  English  law.  Mr.  Foss  discards  all 
these  explanations,  and  says  that  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
word  trailbaston  applies  originally  to  the  offence  or  the  offen- 
ders, and  not  to  the  judges — although  the  latter  being 
assigned  to  try  them  were  subsequently  so  denominated.  It 
appears  that  in  Edward's  reign,  to  quote  the  words  of  the 
Commission  appointing  Justices  of  Trailbaston,  '  many  mal- 
factrrs  and  disturbers  of  the  peace,  perpetrating  homicides, 
depredations,  fires,  and  other  wrongs,  both  by  day  and  night, 
wander  about  in  woods,  parks,  and  divers  other  places,  in  the 
counties  named  ;  and  these  are  harboured,  to  the  great  dan- 
ger of  those  travelling  through  those  parts  and  resident  in 
them,  and  in  the  King's  contempt,  and  the  manifest  breach  of 
his  peace.'  No  allusion  is  made  to  the  arms  these  sturdy 
rogues  bore,  but  they  are  said  to  '  beat,  wound,  ill-treat,  and 
kill  ; '  and  it  has  been  conjectured  that  they  carried  no  other 
weapon  than  a  cudgel  or  club,  and  thus  obtained  their  name. 
In  an  extract  quoted  by  Mr.  Foss  from  Langloft's  '  Chronicle' 
they  are  thus  mentioned  : — 

Traylbastons  sunt  nommcz  de  eel  retenaunee  ; 

En  fayres  et  marchez  se  proferent  fere  convenaunce, 

Par  tres  sous  ou  iiii ;  ou  par  la  valiaunce, 

Batre  un  prodhomme  ke  unk  fist  nosaunce 

A  cors  cristiene,  par  null  temoygnaunce.' 

'  Mr.    Wright,     in    his    '  Political      of  the  passage  :— *  This  Company  are 
Songs,'  gives  the  following  translation      called  tiailebastons  ;  they  offer  to  make 


THE   JUDGES   OE  ENGLAND.  123 

And  in  an  old  contemporary  song,  which  professes  to  be 
written  by  an  outlaw  who  had  fled  to  the  woods  to  escape  the 
cruelty  of  the  judges,  and  which  the  late  Mr.  Lockhart 
modernized,  the  author  attacks  two  of  the  justices  in  the  fol- 
lowing savage  lines  : — 

I'd  teach  them  well  this  noble  game  of  trailbaston  to  know, 
On  every  chine  I'd  stamp  the  same,  and  every  nape  also  ; 
On  every  inch  in  all  their  frames  I'd  make  my  cudgel  go  ; 

To  lop  their  tongue  I'd  think  no  shame,  not  yet  their  lips  to  sew. 

There  is  a  curious  petition  to  the  Parliament  of  35  Edward 
I.  alleging  that  persons  who  had  been  convicted  before  the 
Justices  of  Trailbaston  for  conspiracies  and  other  misdemean- 
ours, and  had  paid  their  fines  for  them,  got  themselves  after- 
wards placed  on  inquisitions  and  juries  to  confound  those  who 
had  honestly  indicted  them.  An  order  was  therefore  given  for- 
bidding this  in  future.  One  clause  of  the  oath  taken  by  each 
of  the  Justices  of  Trailbaston  was  that  'he  shall  take  no  gift 
of  any  one  for  pleading,  or  other  thing  which  he  may  have  to 
do  before  him,  except  it  be  to  eat  and  drink  a  lajoniee! 

It  appears,  then,  that  'writs  of  Trailbaston'  were  in  the 
nature  of  special  commissions  issued  for  a  temporary  purpose 
— as  in  the  case  of  the  Rebecca  riots  in  Wales  within  our  own 
memory — and  they  continued  to  be  issued  at  intervals  until 
the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  when  they  finally 
ceased.  The  appointment  in  fact,  of  Justices  Itinerant,  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  regular  judges,  fell  into  disuse  after  the  passing 
of  the  statutes  of  Nisi  Prius  in  1 3  Edward  I.  and  those  of  gaol 
delivery,  and  persons  appealed  in  27  and  28  Edward  I. 
Stow,  whom  Mr.  Foss  quotes,  tells  us  that  in  the  year  1294, 
and  at  other  times,  the  Justices  Itinerant  sat  outside  of  Lon- 
don at  the  stone  cross  in  the  High  Street  near  the  Strand, 
over  against  the  Bishop  of  Coventry's  house,  and  sometimes 
within  the  house  itself. 

When  was  the  custom  with  which  we  are  so  familiar,  of 
Judges  going  circuit,  first  introduced .-'  Mr.  Foss  says  that 
there  is  a  reasonable  presumption  for  fixing  the  first  appoint- 
ment of  itinerant  justices  in  the  reign  of  Henry  I.,  although 
the  precise  year  cannot  be  ascertained.     An  ancient  roll  in  the 

conventions  at    fairs   and    markets   for     who  never  did  hurt   to    any   Christian 
three  or  four  shillings;  or,   merely  to      body  by  the  testimony  of  no  one.' 
show  their  courage,  to  beat  a  go,o4  wan 


124  ESSAYS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Exchequer,  of  the  date  31    Henry  I.  (a.d.   1130),  shows  that 
they  had  previously  to  that  period  been  appointed,  and  had 
travelled  their  circuits.     During  the  lawless  reign  of  Stephen 
they  appear  to  have  been  discontinued,  as  might  naturally  be 
expected  in  such  a  time  of  strife  and  disorder.     Hallam   says 
('Const.  Hist.,'    ii.   337,    i860),    'Because  few,  comparatively 
speaking,  could  have  recourse  to  so  distant  a  tribunal  as  that 
of  the  King's  Court,  and  perhaps  also  on  account  of  the  attach- 
ment which  the  English  felt  to  their  ancient  right  of  trial  by 
the  neighbouring  freeholders,  Henry  H.  established  itinerant 
justices  to  decide  civil  and  criminal  pleas  within  each  county.' 
This  excellent  institution  is   referred   by  some  to  the   22nd 
year  of  that  prince,  but  Maddox  traces  it  several  years  higher. 
But  long  after  the  separation  of  the  three  Courts,  the  King's 
Bench  was   an   itinerant  Court  and  followed  the  royal  move- 
ments, and  in   the   38th  year  of  Edward   HI.  the  Commons 
presented   a   petition  to  the   King   complaining  that,  as  the 
Bench   is  wandering   from   county  to  county,  the   people  are 
made  to  come  before   the  justices   in   each  county,  to  their 
great  distraction  and  cost,  and   that   many  are  defeated   for 
want  of  wise  council,  whereof  they  can   find  none   because  of 
the  uncertainty  of  the  place.     They   pray,  therefore,  that   the 
Bench,   may   be  established   in   Westminster  or  York.     The 
King,  however,  refused  to  give  up  his  prerogative  to  order  his 
Bench  to  meet  wherever  he  pleased.     And  even  the  Common 
Pleas,  in   direct  violation  of  Magna  Carta,  was   not   held   in 
one    fixed   locality,    for    we    find  in    the    '  Year-Book '    of   8 
Edward  HI.  a  Counsel  saying,   'The  Common  Bench  is  not 
in  a  certain  place,  but  sometimes  here  (in  York),  and  at  other 
times  in  London,  changed  according  to  the  King's  will.'     But 
it  seems  from   a   petition  of  the  Commons  a  few  years  later, 
that  the  changes  were  confined  to  Westminster  and  York. 

It  is  not  quite  clear  when  a  Law  Officer  of  the  Crown  first 
assumed  or  was  called  by  the  title  of  Attorney-General. 
Before  the  sixth  year  of  Edward  L  two  instances  occur  where 
the  designation  '  Attornatus  Regis '  is  employed  without  any 
name  being  given.  The  ordinary  mode,  however,  of  describ- 
ing the  officer  was  qui  scqnitur pro  rcgc.  But  Mr.  Foss  says 
that  in  most  years,  regularly  under  the  reign  of  Edward  I., 
two  were  regularly  employed  '  who  may  perhaps  be  supposed 


THE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND  125 

to  answer  to  our  modern  officers  the  Attorney-  and  Solicitor- 
General.'  That  there  was  an  estabhshed  advocate  on  the 
part  of  the  King  appears  probable  from  the  fact  that,  in  the 
last  year  of  Edward's  reign,  John  de  Mutford  was  called 
before  the  Treasurer  and  Barons  of  the  Exchequer  to  inform 
them  of  the  King's  right  in  the  matter  of  a  petition  then  pre- 
sented. The  first  name  to  which  the  title  of  '  Attornatus 
Regis'  is  attached  is  that  of  William  Boneville  in  1277,  but 
a  few  years  before  several  cases  are  recorded  in  which  Law- 
rence de  Broke  is  described  as  one  who  '  sequitur  pro  rcge,' 
and  he  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  as  the  first  known  legal 
progenitor  of  the  long  line  of  distinguished  men  who  have 
filled  the  office  of  Attorney-General. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  the  Judges  owe  their  appoint- 
ments 'quamdiu  se  bene  gesserint,'  instead  of  'durante  bene 
placito,'  to  George  III.  ;  but  this  is  quite  a  mistake.'  So 
early  as  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  if  not  earlier,  the  patent  was 
often  made  out  in  the  form  of  '  good  behaviour.'  Thus  when 
the  King  wished  to  deprive  Chief  Baron  Walter  of  his  office 
for  some  unknown  cause  of  displeasure,  the  spirited  Judge 
refused  to  submit,  alleging  that  by  his  patent  he  held  his 
post  'quamdiu  se  bene  gesserit,'  and  he  demanded  a  scire 
facias  to  show  whether  he  did  '  bene  se  gerere '  or  not ;  and 
the  King  did  not  insist  on  his  dismissal,  but  contented  himself 
with  forbidding  him  to  sit  in  court.  But  a  few  years  after- 
wards Sir  Humphrey  Davenport  was  appointed  in  his  place, 
and  in  that  case  the  patent  was  made  out  in  the  form 
'  durante  bene  placito.'  And  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  these 
words  were,  we  believe  almost  universally  introduced  to  make 
the  Judges  subservient  to  the  Crown.  At  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  in  the  debates  previous  to  the  Declaration  of 
Rights,  several  speakers  insisted  on  making  the  commissions 
of  the  Judges  run  quamdiu  sc  bene  gesserint.  'But,'  says  Mr. 
Hallam,  '  this  was  omitted  in  the  hasty  and  imperfect  Bill  of 
Rights.  The  commissions,  however,  of  William's  Judges  ran 
quamdiu  se  bene  gesserint.  But  the  King  gave  an  unfortunate 
instance  of  his  very  injudicious  tenacity  of  bad  prerogatives 

'  An  attempt  was  made  in  the  reign  assent   to  the  proposal,  declaring  that 

of  Edward  IV.  to  transfer  the  power  of  '  it  is  necessary  that  they  be  truly  paid, 

paying  the  salaries  of  the  Judges  to  the  but  that  it  be  at  the  King's  pleasure.' 
Parliament  ;   but   the   King    refused    to 


126  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

in  refusing  his  assent,  in  1692,  to  a  Bill  that  passed  both 
Houses  for  establishing  the  independence  of  the  Judges  by- 
law and  confirming  their  salaries.  We  owe  this  important 
provision  to  the  Act  of  Settlement,  not,  as  ignorance  and 
adulation  have  perpetually  asserted,  to  his  late  Majesty 
George  III.' 

The  fees  paid  to  Council  in  old  times  were  not  large,  even 
when  allowance  is  made  for  the  change  in  the  value  of  money. 
In  1500  three  Counsel  in  Serjeant's  Inn  received  3^-.  \d.  each 
from  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  Canterbury,  for  their  advice 
on  the  affairs  of  that  city.  They  were  sometimes  treated  by 
their  clients.  Thus  the  following  items  occur  in  a  bill  of  costs 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  III  : — 

s.  d. 
For  a  breakfast  at  Westminster,  spent  on  our  Counsel  .  .  .16 
To  another  time  for  boat-hire  in  and  out  and  a  breakfast  for  two  days.      I     6 

When  counsel  were  retained  for  the  Assizes,  a  regular  in- 
denture was  sometimes  executed. 

Mr.  Foss  does  not  mention  the  fact,  but  it  was  the  custom 
for  the  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  to  send  an  escort  with  the 
Judges  when  they  rode  from  Newcastle  to  Carlisle  across 
the  wild  border  country,  and  a  regular  receipt  was  given  by 
the  Sheriff  of  Cumberland  when  their  bodies  were  safely  de- 
livered to  him.  To  pay  the  expenses  of  this  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  of  Newcastle  used  to  make  the  Judges  a  present  of 
a  sum  of  money,  and  this  custom  was  kept  up  until  a  very 
recent  period.  We  believe  that  Lord  Denman  was  the  last  who 
received  it  in  the  shape  of  a  gold  jacobus.  We  have  seen 
several  of  those  coins  which  that  learned  and  estimable  Chief 
Justice  kept  and  employed  as  counters  at  whist. 

Before  the  time  of  Mary,  the  Judges  rode  to  Westminster 
Hall  on  mules  ;  and  Mr.  Justice  Whyddon,  who  was  appointed 
a  Judge  of  the  King's  Bench  in  the  first  year  of  her  reign,  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  who  bestrode  a  horse  in  the  solemn 
procession. 

The  '  forum  litibus  orbum '  has  never  been  a  good  sign  in 
modern  times,  and  accordingly  the  lawyers  seem  to  have  had 
a  poor  time  of  it  in  the  reign  of  bloody  Mary.  Heylin  tells 
us  that  in  the  year  before  her  death  there  was  at  the  King's 
Bench  bar  only  one  man  of  law  and  but  one  Serjeant  in  the 


THE   JUDGES  OF  ENGLAND  127 

Common  Pleas,  '  both  having  httle  more  to  do  than  to  look 
about  them,  and  the  Judges  not  much  more  to  do  than  the 
lawyers  had.' 

The  expenses  of  the  Judges  on  circuit  were,  previously  to 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  borne  by  the  Sheriffs  ;  but  this  was 
found  so  burdensome,  that  an  Order  in  Council  was  made,  in 
1574,  that  the  'Justices  shall  have  of  Her  Majesty  several 
sums  of  money  out  of  her  coffers  for  their  daily  diet.' 

In  writing  the  'Lives  of  the  Judges,'  Mr,  Foss  has  found 
it  impossible  not  to  notice  the  remarkable  volumes  of  Lord 
Campbell,  which  contain  those  of  the  Chancellors  and  Chief 
Justices.  Those  works,  which  contain  evidence  of  much 
labour,  are  written  in  a  lively  and  popular — if  somewhat 
jaunty — style.  But  they  were  written  too  fast,  and  Lord 
Campbell  did  not  take  sufficient  pains  to  insure  accuracy  in 
his  statements,  which  he  too  often  accepted  at  secondhand, 
without  giving  himself  the  trouble  to  examine  the  original 
authorities.  We  will  mention  a  few  of  Lord  Campbell's 
blunders,  some  of  which  show  that  he  contented  himself  with 
carelessly  borrowing  from  preceding  writers  ;  and,  in  more  than 
one  case,  without  any  acknowledgment.  He  copies  Old- 
mixon's  mistake  in  calling  Arfastus,  the  first  officer  under 
William  the  Conqueror  to  whose  name  the  title  of  Chancellor 
is  added  in  the  charters  contained  in  the  '  Monasticon,'  Bishop 
of  Helmstadt  in  Germany,  although  Spelman,  the  only  autho- 
rity whom  Lord  Campbell  cites,  describes  him  as  Bishop  of 
Thetford.  The  fact  is,  he  was  previously  Bishop  of  Elmham 
in  Norfolk,  the  original  seat  of  the  bishopric,  which  was  re- 
moved by  him  to  Thetford  and  by  one  of  his  successors  to 
Norwich,  which  may  account  for  Oldmixon's  error.  Lord 
Campbell  places  Baldric  amongst  the  Chancellors  under 
William  L,  and  speaks  of  the  charter  in  the  '  Monasticon,'  to 
which  his  name  is  attached,  as  granted  '  to  the  monks  of  St. 
Florentius  of  Andover.'  He  then  quotes  some  lines  from 
Spenser  and  Pope,  wJiich  he  foujid  in  JoJinsojis  Dictionary, 
as  furnishing  the  etymology  of  the  name,  declaring  that  *  it  is 
said  that  the  poetical  name  for  a  belt  or  girdle  was  taken  from 
the  Chancellor,  who  is  supposed  to  have  worn  one  of  uncom- 
mon magnificence.'  Unluckily,  the  real  name  was  IValdric, 
the  initial  G  and  B  being  various  ways  of  Latinizing  the  W. 


128         ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND    NARRATIVE. 

Mr.  Foss  makes  the  mistake  of  saying  that  this  Chancellor  be- 
came Bishop  of  Landaff— having  been  misled  by  Lingard,  who 
was  misled  by  the  reading  Landavcnsis  in  Duchesne's  edition 
of  Orderic.  But  the  true  reading  is  Laiidnnensis,  i.e.  Bishop  of 
Laon,  and  a  full  account  of  him  may  be  found  in  Gilbert  of 
Nogent,  '  De  Vita  Sua,'  iii.  4.  The  name  appeared,  however, 
in  Dugdale's  '  Chronica  Series  '  as  Baldricus  ;  and  Lord  Camp- 
bell could  not  deny  himself  the  pleasure  of  indulging  in  a  joke. 
Moreover,  the  charter  was  a  grant  of  the  Church  of  Andover 
to  the  monks  of  St.  Florentius  at  Saumur  ;  and  Mr.  Foss 
shows  that  it  was  granted  not  by  William  I.,  but  William  II., 
as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  first  attesting  witness  imme- 
diately preceding  the  Chancellor  is  Robertus  Episcopus  de 
Nicola  (Lincoln),  of  which  see  there  was  no  Bishop  of  that 
name  in  the  reign  of  William  I.;  but  under  that  of  William 
II.  Robert  Bloet  was  elected  in  the  year  1093. 

We  should  like  to  know  on  what  authority  Lord  Camp- 
bell calls  Robert  de  Sadington,  who  was  Chancellor  in  1343, 
'a  bad  Equity  Judge.'  He  refers  to  Coke;  but  Coke  is 
simply  silent  as  to  his  merits,  and  this  by  no  means  justifies 
the  inference  that  Sadington  was  a  bad  Judge.  There  is  an 
entry  in  his  time  of  the  seizure  by  the  Mayor  and  Bailiffs  of 
Sandwich  of  nine  Papal  bulls  and  numerous  processes  and 
letters  from  the  Court  of  Rome,  '  enclosed  in  a  waxed  linen 
cloth,'  which  were  delivered  by  the  Chancellor  in  full  Chancery 
at  Westminster  to  the  Chamberlain  of  the  Exchequer,  to  be 
kept  in  the  Treasury. 

The  same  noble  author  has  amused  his  readers  by  a  life 
of  '  Lady  Keeper  Queen  Eleanor,'  and  he  tells  us  that  the 
sittings  in  the  Aula  Regis  '  were  interrupted  by  the  accouche- 
ment of  the  Judge  !'  Now,  what  are  the  facts  according  to 
Mr.  Foss  .-^  Henry  III.,  on  going  into  Gascony,  confided  the 
government  of  the  kingdom  to  his  wife  Queen  Eleanor  as 
Regent,  and  ordered  her  to  deliver  the  Seal  of  the  Exchequer 
to  William  de  Kilkenny,  to  be  kept  by  him  ///  the  place  of  the 
great  seal,  which  he  had  directed  to  be  locked  up  until  his 
return  from  abroad.  '  She  could,'  says  Mr.  Foss,  '  no  more  be 
keeper  of  the  seal  during  his  absence,  than  he  himself  could 
be  his  own  Chancellor  if  he  were  present  ;  and  the  picas  he 
refers  to  in  the  Curia  Regis  were  not  held  before  Her  Majesty 


THE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  129 

as  Ctistos  Sigilli,  but  as  Gustos  Rigni,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  King  himself  sometimes  presided.' 

One  of  the  most  curious  things  in  Lord  Campbell's  book 
is  the  extraordinary  onslaught  he  makes,  without  a  particle 
of  authority,  on  the  character  of  Chief  Justice  Billing,  who 
presided  in  the  King's  Bench  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  It 
seems  to  be,  in  truth,  a  biography  for  which  no  foundation 
can  be  assigned,  though  we  are  loth  to  pronounce  any  of 
Lord  Campbell's  narratives  to  be  wholly  fictitious  ;  and  it  is 
difficult  to  understand  by  what  freak  of  fancy  or  temper  Lord 
Campbell  conceived  such  remarkable  spite  against  his  prede- 
cessor, who  had  lain  for  nearly  four  centuries  in  his  tomb. 
Coke  speaks  of  Billing  as  one  of  '  other  excellent  men '  who 
flourished  in  his  time.  Of  his  birth  and  parentage,  and  early 
years,  nothing  is  known  ;  but  he  was  a  Member  or  Fellow,  as 
it  is  called,  of  Gray's  Inn  ;  M.P.  for  the  City  of  London,  and 
Recorder  of  the  same  place ;  afterwards  one  of  the  Judges, 
and  finally  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench.  And  yet  Lord 
Campbell  styles  him  '  an  unprincipled  adventurer,'  and  gra- 
tuitously conjectures  that  he  was  '  the  clerk  of  an  attorney.' 
Because  Fuller  is  silent  as  to  his  ancestors  and  descendants, 
his  Lordship  asserts  that  Fuller  '  is  evidently  ashamed  of  in- 
troducing such  a  character  arriong  worthies,'  a  ridiculous 
reason,  which  v/ould  prove  a  great  deal  too  much,  and  justify 
similar  attacks  upon  many  others  of  that  quaint  old  writer's 
worthies. 

To  show  his  servility,  Lord  Campbell  quotes  from  a  trea- 
tise, which  he  attributes  to  him,  on  the  subject  of  the  rival 
claims  of  Henry  VI.  and  Edward  IV.  to  the  Crown  ;  but  Mr. 
Foss  quietly  observes  that  he  has  never  seen  nor  heard  of  it. 
After  mentioning  that  'we  have  no  materials  which  could 
justify  us  in  ascribing  to  Billing  the  private  suggestions  of 
which  Lord  Campbell  makes  him  the  author,  or  in  judo-ino-  of 
the  correctness  of  the  motives  assigned  for  his  elevation  to  the 
Bench,'  he  proceeds  : — 

Lord  Campbell,  quoting  from  Baker's  'Chronicle'  and  Hale's  'Pleas  of  the 
Crown,'  mentions  Billing  as  the  Judge  who  tried  Walter  Walker  for  saying  he 
would  make  his  son  '  heir  to  the  Crown,'  meaning  his  inn  so  called  ;  and  he  gives 
the  Judge's  ruling  on  the  case,  with  the  conviction  and  execution  of  the  unfortu- 
nate prisoner.  It  is  curious,  however,  that  his  Lordship,  when  five  pages  before 
he  cites  Sir  Nicholas  Throgmorton's  address  to  Chief  Justice  Bromley,  omits  there 

K 


I30  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  Chief  Justice's  answer  referring  to  this  very  '  Crov/n '  case,  though  he  does 
not  name  the  prisoner  ;  by  which  it  appears  that  Markham  v/as  the  Judge,  and 
that  an  acquittal  was  the  consequence  of  his  honest  iiding. 

Again,  Lord  Campbell  saddles  the  unfortunate  Chief 
Justice  with  the  trial  and  conviction  of  Mr.  Thomas  Burdet 
for  wishing  a  favourite  buck  of  his,  which  the  King  had  killed 
in  hunting,  horns  and  all,  in  the  King's  belly.  But  what  says 
Mr.  Foss  .? 

We  cannot  discover  whence  Lord  Campbell  has  extracted  the  mling  of  Billing 
in  this  or  in  Walker's  case,  which  he  has  printed  Math  inverted  commas  as  quo- 
tations :  but  we  are  surprised  that,  with  his  Lordship's  known  experience  and 
great  knowledge  of  his  profession,  he  was  not  aware  that  Burdet's  case  had  been 
lately  referred  to  in  Westminster  Hall ;  that  the  record  of  his  attainder  was 
searched  for,  and  found  in  the  Baga  de  Secretis  ;  and  that  this  labour  might  have 
been  spared  by  looking  into  Croke's  'Charles,'  p.  120,  where  the  proceedings 
against  him  are  published.  The  result  of  all  this  would  have  proved  that  the 
whole  story  of  the  buck  and  the  belly  was  a  figment,  and  that  the  charge  against 
Burdet  was  for  conspiring  to  kill  the  King  and  the  Prince  by  casting  their 
nativity,  foretelling  the  speedy  death  of  both,  and  scattering  papers  containing 
the  prophecy  among  the  people. 

Another  instance  of  reckless  romancing  on  the  part  of 
Lord  Campbell  occurs  in  the  life  of  Fitzjames,  who  was  Chief 
Baron  of  the  Exchequer  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's 
Bench  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIIL  It  is  really  amusing  to 
see  the  way  in  which  Mr.  Foss  demolishes  statements  which 
were  made  by  Lord  Campbell  as  if  they  contained  nothing 
but  certain  unquestionable  fact.  When  Lord  Campbell  tells 
us  that  '  it  is  said  that  Fitzjames,  v/ho  was  a  Somersetshire 
man,  kept  up  an  intimacy  with  Wolsey,  when  the  latter  had 
become  a  village  parson  in  that  county  ;  and  that  he  was 
actually  in  the  brawl  at  the  fair,  when  his  Reverence,  having 
got  drunk,  was  set  in  the  stocks  by  Sir  Amyas  Paulet ;' — that 
at  his  Inn  of  Court  'he  chiefly  distinguished  himself  on  gaudy 
days  by  dancing  before  the  Judges,  playing  the  part  of  the 
Abbot  of  Misrule,  and  swearing  strange  oaths;'  we  cannot 
positively  confute  these  statements,  but  in  the  absence  of  all 
authority  for  them,  we  attribute  them  solely  to  his  Lordship's 
desire  to  be  lively  and  smart.     When,  however,  he  adds  that 

Wolsey,    Fitzjames's    *  former    chum was   able   to 

throw  some  business  in  his  way  in  the  Court  of  Wards  and 
Liveries,'  he  unfortunately  forgets  that  the  Court  of  Wards  and 
Liveries  was  not  established  until  ten  years  after  Fitzjames's 
death.  He  accuses  him  of  being  the  adviser  and  dictator  of 
the  articles  against  Wolsey  his  benefactor,  for  no  other  appa- 


2^HE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  131 

rent  reason  than  that  his  name  appears  as  the  last  of  the 
seventeen  persons,  inckiding  Sir  Thomas  More,  who  sub- 
scribed them.  At  the  trial  of  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
he  attributes  to  him,  in  inverted  commas,  the  remarks  which, 
in  the  'State  Trials,'  are  assigned  to  'the  Judges'  generally. 
In  the  case  of  the  conviction  of  Queen  Anne  Boleyn,  he 
pursues  the  same  unfair  course.  The  '  State  Trials,'  say  that 
'  The  Judges  complained  '  that  the  sentence  in  the  disjunctive 
that  she  should  be  burnt  or  beheaded  was  a  thing  unheard 
of;  but  Lord  Campbell  changes  'the  Judges'  into  '  Fitz- 
James,  C.  J.,'  and  adds,  within  inverted  commas,  an  argument 
as  delivered  by  him  on  the  occasion,  for  which  there  is  no 
authority  whatever.  Surely  this  is  enough  to  show  how  un- 
trustworthy such  a  biography  must  be.  '  But,'  says  Mr. 
Foss,  '  the  most  curious  part  of  the  story  remains  to  be  told. 
The  whole  of  the  proceedings  against  the  unfortunate  Queen 
are  preserved  in  the  Baga  de  Sccretis,  and  from  them  it  is 
manifest  that  Fitzjames  was  not  present  at  all.  His  name 
does  not  occur  in  any  of  the  writs  ;  and  Baldwin,  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  was  the  principal  Judge  in  all 
of  them  ! ' 

Of  course  Lord  Campbell  revels  in  the  opportunity  which 
the  life  of  Sir  Christopher  Hatton  affords  him  of  iinaginino-  a 
great  many  things  of  which  he  absolutely  knew  nothing. 
'  Of  his  conduct  at  the  University,'  says  Mr.  Foss,  '  or  at  his 
Inn  of  Court,  or  what  studies  he  pursued  at  either,  there  is 
no  account,  except  that  given  by  Lord  Campbell,  which  as  he 
quotes  no  authority,  it  is  presumed  is  intended  rather  as  an 
exercise  of  fancy  than  as  a  detail  of  facts.'  But  when  he 
relates  of  a  Lord  Chancellor  that  '  while  holding  the  Great 
Seal,  his  greatest  distinction  continued  to  be  his  skill  in 
dancing,'  he  ought  to  have  some  better  grounds  for  his  asser- 
tion than  the  statement  in  a  contemporary  letter  that  on  one 
occasion  Hatton,  when  Chancellor,  joined  in  a  dance.  We 
have  no  doubt  that  Lord  Campbell  thought  he  was  safe  in  fol- 
lowing the  poet  Gray,  and  relied  on  the  amusing  lines  in  the 
'  Long  Story ' : — 

Full  oft  within  the  spacious  walls, 

When  he  had  fifty  winters  o'er  him, 
My  grave  Lord -Keeper  led  the  brawls, 

The  sea!  and  maces  danced  before  him. 
K  3 


132  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

But,  unluckily,  even  this  fails  him  ;  for  Mr.  Foss  tells  us  that 
Gray  was  mistaken  in  supposing  that  Hatton  occupied  the 
house  at  Stoke  Pogeis  the  locus  in  quo  of  the  imaginary 
revels.  The  truth  is,  that,  notwithstanding  his  want  of  pro- 
fessional training  for  the  Bench  (although  he  had  been  a  law 
student  in  his  youth),  he  acquitted  himself  with  considerable 
credit  ;  and  having  before  us  the  testimony  of  David  Lloyd 
in  his  '  State  Worthies,'  who,  writing  in  the  next  century,  says 
that  '  the  Chancellorship  was  above  his  law,  but  not  his  parts  ; 
so  pregnant  and  comprehensive  that  he  could  command  other 
men's  knowledge  to  as  good  purpose  as  his  own Sel- 
dom were  his  decrees  reversed  in  Chancery,  and  seldomer  his 
advice  opposed  in  Council.  So  just  he  was,  that  his  sentence 
was  law  with  the  subject  ;  so  wise,  that  his  opinion  was  oracle 
with  his  Sovereign ' — we  need  not  stop  to  confute  Lord 
Campbell's  sneering  remark  that  his  greatest  distinction  was 
skill  in  dancing. 

If  Lord  Campbell's  long  and  laborious  life  had  been  still 
furthur  protracted,  and  he  had  submitted  his  works  to  a 
thorough  and  careful  revision,  the  volumes  would  have  been 
considerably  improved,  and  might  not  only  be  read  for  amuse- 
ment, but  what  we  believe  is  seldom  the  case  now,  be  referred 
to  as  authorities. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  the  lives  of  some  of  the  earliest 
Judges,  who  of  course  v/ere  generally  ecclesiastics.  But  they 
were  not  only  men  of  the  gown,  but  men  of  the  sword — as 
ready  to  fight  in  the  field  as  decide  knotty  points  of  law  in 
the  Courts.  Thus  Hugh  de  Cressingham,  who  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Justices  Itinerant  during  four  years  of  the  reign 
of  Edward  I.,  and  at  the  same  time  Rector  of  Chalk  in  Kent, 
was  appointed  Treasurer  of  Scotland  when  Baliol  renounced 
the  throne  in  1296  ;  and  on  the  rising  of  Wallace  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  threw  aside  his  legal  robes  and  cassock,  and 
fell  in  battle  on  the  banks  of  the  Forth.  He  was  detested  by 
the  Scotch  for  his  oppression,  and  it  is  said  that  Wallace 
ordered  as  much  skin  to  be  taken  off  his  dead  body  as  would 
make  a  sword-belt.  William  le  Vavasour,  a  Justice  Itinerant 
in  1304,  served  the  King  in  his  expedition  into  Gascony,  and 
in  his  wars  in  Scotland.  In  Nicolas's  '  Siege  of  Carlaverock ' 
in  1300  his  prowess  is  thus  celebrated  : — 


THE  JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  133 

E  de  celle  mesme  part 

Fu  Guillaum  li  Vavasours 

Kc  d'arines  n'est  inuit  ne  sours. 

He  was  afterwards  appointed  one  of  the  Justices  of  Trailbas- 
ton  for  York.  William  de  Vesey,  while  filling  the  office  of 
Chief  Justice  in  Ireland,  was  charged  by  John  FitzThomas 
with  confederating  against  the  King,  and  challenged  his 
accuser  to  meet  him  in  mortal  combat;  so  that  Lord  Norbury 
might  have  quoted  a  precedent  if  he  wanted  one,  when  he  told 
a  barrister  who  affronted  him  on  the  Bench  that  he  was  ready 
to  fight  a  duel  with  him  when  he  had  thrown  off"  his  gown, 
De  Vesey  came  ready  armed  into  the  field,  but  FitzThomas 
showed  the  white  feather  and  kept  away.  John  de  Delves, 
before  he  was  made  a  Judge  in  the  Common  Pleas  in  1364, 
fought  at  the  battle  of  Poictiers  as  Squire  to  the  gallant  Lord 
Audley,  who  '  went  to  the  foremost  front  of  all  the  battayle, 
all  onely  accompanyed  with  fowr  squyers,  who  promised  not 
to  fayle  him,  and  these  dyd  marvels  in  armes.'  Geoffrey  le 
Scrope,  who  was  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  IIL,  accompanied  the  King  in  the  invasion 
of  Scotland,  and  displayed  his  banner  and  pennon  at  the 
affair  of  Stannow  Park.  He  also  served  at  the  Siege  of 
Tournay  in  1340.  But  Mr.  Foss  has  shown  that  at  that  time 
he  had  ceased  to  be  Chief  Justice. 

Richard  le  Scrope,  who  was  Chancellor  in  the  reign  of 
Richard  H.,  had  been  a  distinguished  soldier,  and  fought  at 
the  battles  of  Crecy  and  Nevil's  Cross  in  the  same  year,  1346. 
So  bravely  did  he  bear  himself  against  the  Scotch,  that  he 
was  made  a  Knight  Banneret  in  the  field.  After  he  had  re- 
signed, or  rather,  been  deprived  of  the  Great  Seal,  he  resumed 
the  profession  of  arms,  and  accompanied  King  Richard  in  an 
expedition  against  Scotland  in  1385. 

The  way  in  which  trained  lawyers  came  to  supply  the 
place  of  belted  earls  and  warlike  barons  on  the  Bench  is  easy 
to  conjecture.     No  doubt  Mr.  Foss  is  right  when  he  says  : — 

The  members  of  the  Curia  Regis  consisted  of  various  officers  of  the  palace  and 
the  prelates  and  barons  of  the  realm.  Of  the  latter,  some  from  their  avocations 
would  be  unable  to  attend,  and  others,  from  their  ignorance,  would  be  incom- 
petent to  assist  in  the  judicial  duties  of  the  Court.  These  functions  weregradually 
left  to  the  management  of  a  few  of  the  barons,  who  were  expressly  selected  on 
account  of  their  superior  judgments  or  attainments,  until,  by  the  advance  of  legal 


134  £SSAYS   CRITICAL  4ND  NARRATIVE. 

science  and  the  increase  of  legal  intricacies,  it  became  necessary  at  first  to  asso- 
ciate with  them,  and  eventually  to  substitute  for  them,  persons  whose  lives  had 
been  devoted  to  judicial  studies. 

As  might  be  expected,  there  are  very  few  personal  anec- 
dotes to  be  gleaned  from  the  lives  of  the  Judges  for  the  first 
three  or  four  hundred  years  after  the  Conquest,  except  in  the 
case  of  such  men  as  Beckct  and  William  af  Wykeham.  It  is 
difficult,  therefore,  to  realize  these  ancient  sages  of  the  law  as 
men  of  like  passions  as  ourselves  :  eating,  drinking,  and  jest- 
ing ;  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage ;  and  sometimes,  we 
fear,  swearing  on  the  Bench.  At  least  so  we  may  conjecture 
from  the  language  used  by  John  de  Mowbray  in  44  Edward 
III.  as  reported  in  the  Year-Book,  who  called  out  to  the 
Bishop  of  Chester,  a  defendant  in  an  action  tried  before  him, 
''alia:  mi  grand  dlable'  And  Hill,  who  was  a  Judge  of  the 
Common  Pleas  in  the  reign  of  Henry  V.  when  an  action  was 
brought  against  a  dyer  who  had  bound  himself  not  to  use  his 
craft  for  half  a  year,  not  only  held  that  the  bond  was  void  as 
in  restraint  of  trade,  but  added,  according  to  the  report  in  the 
Year-Book,  *  And  by  God,  if  the  plaintiff  was  here  he  should 
go  to  prison  till  he  paid  a  fine  to  the  King,' 

We  read  of  FitzOsberne,  Justiciary  of  England  in  1067, 
escaping  a  blow  which  the  irascible  Conqueror  aimed  at  him 
because,  in  his  capacity  of  Steward  of  the  Household,  he  had 
set  on  the  royal  table  the  flesh  of  a  crane  which  was  scarcely 
half-roasted  ;  an  affront  that  made  him  resign  his  office  of 
Dapifer. 

Adam  de  Gernemue  (/.  e.  of  Yarmouth),  who  was  one  of 
the  Justices  Itinerant  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  had  previously 
been  Clerk  to  the  Signet  under  Henry  I.,  and  was  summoned 
before  that  monarch  by  Thurstan  le  Despencer,  or  Steward, 
for  refusing  to  sign  a  bill  without  a  fee,  as  was  customary 
among  officers  of  the  court.  But  Adam  answered  that  he 
merely  asked  for  two  spice-cakes  made  for  the  King's  own 
mouth,  on  which  Henry  ordered  Thurstan  to  put  off  his  cloak 
and  go  and  bring  the  two  cakes  on  a  white  napkin  and  with  a 
low  curtsey  to  offer  them  to  Adam,  observing,  that  '  Officers 
of  the  Court  must  gratifie  and  show  cast  of  their  office,  not 
only  to  one  another,  but  also  to  strangers,  whenever  need 
shall  require,' 


THE  JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  135 

John  dc  Cavendish,  who  was  one  of  the  Judges  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  seems  to  have  had  a 
spice  of  dry  humour  in  him.  A  case  occurred  before  him  in 
Vv'hich  a  question  arose  as  to  a  lady's  age,  and  her  Counsel  urged 
the  Court  to  call  her  before  them  and  decide  for  themselves 
'  on  the  view '  whether  she  was  within  age  or  not.  But  women 
are  the  same  in  all  time,  and  the  Judge  showed  that  he  knew 
them  when  he  obsei-ved,  *  II  n'  ad  nul  home  en  Engleterre 
que  puy  adjudge  a  droit  deins  age  ou  de  plein  age  ;  car  ascun 
femes  que  sont  de  age  de  xxx  ans  voilent  apperer  d'age  de 
xviii  ans.' 

In  wandering  over  the  names  of  these  old  black-letter 
lawyers,  it  is  refreshing  to  meet  with  one  who,  even  in  those 
early  days,  dallied  with  the  Muses.  Such  was  Walter  Map, 
or,  as  he  is  sometimes  erroneously  called,  Mapes,  Precentor  of 
Lincoln,  Archdeacon  of  Oxford,  and  Justice  Itinerant  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  II.  He  was  a  jovial  and  satirical  poet,  and  his 
rhyming  verses  were  very  popular  among  his  contemporaries. 
A  drinking  song  has  been  ascribed  to  him,  beginning  with  the 
line — 

Meum  est  propositum  in  taberna  mori. 
My  purpose  it  is  in  an  alehouse  to  die. 

But  it  belongs  to  a  later  period.  He  hated  the  Jews  and  the 
White  Monks,  and  when  he  took  the  usual  oath  as  a  Judge, 
to  administer  right  to  every  one,  insisted  on  excepting  them 
both.  This  perhaps  accounts  for  the  occurrence  of  his  name 
only  once  in  the  lists  of  justices,  for  it  is  not  likely  that  even 
in  those  times  he  would  be  permitted  to  scandalise  the  Bench 
by  an  avowed  determination  to  do  injustice.^  There  were 
special  Justices  of  Jews,  who  seemed  always  to  have  sat  with 
the  Barons  of  the  Exchequer,  and  perhaps  existed  only  for 
the  purpose  of  taxation,  but  their  duties  terminated  after  the 
expulsion  of  that  unhappy  people  from  the  realm,  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  I. 

Another  learned  Judge,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term,  was 
Richard  de  Bury,  who  was  made  Chancellor  in  1334.  He  was 
an  ecclesiastic,  and  Bishop  of  Durham,   and  seems  fully  to 

'  His  poems  and  his  treatise  '  De  pieces  which  appeared  under  the  name 

Nugis  Curialium  '  have  been  published  of  '  Golias  Episcopus,'  were  written  by 

by    the    Camden     Society,    and    Mr.  him. 
AVri^ht    shows    that    several    of   those 


136  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

deserve  the  eulogium  of  Mr.  Foss,  who  says  that  the  memory 
of  few  names,  and  none  in  that  age,  is  more  endeared  than 
that  of  Richard  de  Bury.  He  was  the  author  of  the  '  Philo- 
biblon,'  a  work  in  which  he  gives  instructions  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  first  pubhc  Hbrary  founded  at  Oxford,  and 
endeavours  to  excite  a  love  of  hterature,  and  a  taste  for  the 
fine  arts.  Like  D'Aguesseau,  the  great  Chancellor  of  France, 
he  turned  every  moment  to  account,  and  neither  his  meals  nor 
his  travels  were  spent  idly.  '  During  the  former  he  was  read 
to  by  his  chaplains,  among  whom  were  numbered  some  of  the 
most  celebrated  men  of  the  day,  and  afterwards  he  discussed 
with  them  the  various  subjects  suggested  by  the  reading. 
During  the  latter,  he  occupied  himself  in  forming  what  became 
the  largest  library  in  Europe,  the  possession  of  which  was  one 
of  his  greatest  glories,  as  its  accumulation  formed  his  chief 
delight.  He  spared  no  pains  in  securing  the  most  curious 
and  valuable  manuscripts,  and  speaks  with  evident  glee  of  the 
motives  which  influenced  the  donors  of  some,  and  of  the  diffi- 
culties he  had  to  overcome  in  obtaining  others.'  Let  us  add 
that  he  was  as  benevolent  and  bountiful  to  the  poor  as  he  was 
devoted  to  learning. 

We  can  hardly  place  Judge  Markham,  in  the  reign  of 
Richard  H.,  amongst  the  number  of  literary  Judges,  although 
when  the  wife  of  one  who  was  in  exile,  brought  an  action  in  her 
own  name  alone,  and  it  was  decided  that  she  could  do  so 
because  her  husband  was  attainted  in  law,  and  she  was  the 
king's  tenant,  he  extemporised  from  the  Bench  the  following 
doggrel  Latin  lines — faits  a  loisir  : — 

Ecce  modo  minim,  quod  fcemina  fert  breve  Regis 
Non  nominando  viium  conjunctum  ruboie  legis. 

Bryan,  who  was  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VH.,  was  a  scholar  and  a  poet.  Drayton  thus 
sings  of  him  : — 

And  sweet  tongued  P.iyan,  whom  the  Muses  kept, 
And  in  his  cradle  rocked  him  while  he  slept. 

But  as  a  general  rule  the  Judges  of  ancient  times  were  proba- 
bly not  unjustly  described  by  Cecil,  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  in 

1610:  '  Most  of  our  lawyers  and  judges  though  learned  in 
their  profession,  yet  not  having  other  learning,  they,  upon  a 


THE   yUDGES  'OF  ENGLAND.  T37 

question  demanded,  bluntly  answer  it,  and  can  go  no  further, 
having  no  vehicukim  to  carry  it  by  discourse  or  insinuation  to 
the  understanding  of  others.' 

It  was  by  no  means  uncommon  for  Judges,  when  they 
Avere  removed  from  the  Bench,  to  resume  their  practice  at  the 
Bar,  and  in  some  cases  they  seem  to  have  acted  as  advocates, 
even  while  they  held  the  office  of  Judge.  Thus,  William  Inge 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  II.,  appears  as  an  advocate  in  the 
Year-Book  when  he  was  a  Justice  of  Assize,  and  he  was 
regularly  summoned  amongst  the  Judges  to  Parliament.  He 
was  afterwards  elevated  to  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  King's 
Bench.  But  perhaps  in  acting  as  Justice  of  Assize,  he  was 
only  in  the  same  position  as  Queen's  Counsel  and  Serjeants 
at  the  present  day  whose  names  are  put  in  the  Commission, 
and  who  frequently  assist  the  Judges  by  trying  causes  and 
prisoners  in  the  civil  and  criminal  courts.  If,  however,  we 
may  credit  a  passage  in  the  '  Paston  Letters '  (vol.  i.  149), 
so  late  as  the  time  of  Edward  IV.,  Yelverton,  who  was  a  judge 
of  the  King's  Bench  during  the  trial  that  arose  out  of  Sir  John 
Fastolf's  will,  '  came  down  from  the  Bench  and  plete  (pleaded) 
the  matter.'  When  Pemberton,  a  Judge  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.,  was  dismissed  from  the  Bench,  he  returned  to  his 
practice  at  the  Bar.  He  was  afterwards  made  Chief  Justice, 
first  of  the  King's  Bench,  and  then  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and 
being  again  dismissed,  he  a  second  time  returned  to  the  Bar, 
and  was  one  of  the  leading  Counsel  in  the  defence  of  the  seven 
Bishops  in  i638. 

In  reading  the  accounts  of  these  old  Judges,  one  remarks 
the  success  which  they  seem  to  have  had  in  feathering  their 
nests,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  they  could  have  left 
such  large  property  out  of  the  profits  of  their  office  or  their 
previous  practice.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  many 
of  them  were  ecclesiastics,  and  had  Church  preferment,  and 
others  were  military  knights  and  landed  gentry,  whose  posi- 
tion on  the  Bench  was  more  like  that  of  county  magistrates 
than  professional  judges.  As  at  the  present  day,  the  gains  of 
successful  barristers  were  often  greater  than  their  salaries  as 
judges  ;  and  we  find  Aysgoghe,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI., 
complaining,  in  a  petition  to  the  King,  that  he  was  called  to 
the  Bench  and  made  Justice  before  he  had  been  fully  two  years 


138  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

in  the  office  of  Serjeant,  'by  which  makyng  Justice,  all  his 
winnings  that  he  sholde  have  made  in  the  said  office  of  Ser- 
jeant, and  alle  the  fees  that  he  had  in  England,  weere  and  be 
cessed  and  expired  to  his  grete  empovrysshyng,  for  they  were 
the  grete  substance  of  his  lyvelode,'  He  therefore  prayed,  as 
he  was  '  the  porest  of  alle  your  Justices,'  that  the  King  would 
grant  him  certain  tenements  of  the  value  of  25/.  \2s.  lod.  a 
year.  This  must  be  multiplied  by  fifteen  to  make  it  repre- 
sent the  present  value  of  money,  so  that  what  the  Judge  asked 
for  was  equivalent  to  an  estate  yielding  385/.  a  year. 

As  an  example  of  the  careful  accuracy  with  which  Mr. 
Foss  has  investigated  facts,  we  may  adduce  the  case  of  Chief 
Justice  Gascoigne.  This  was  Henry  IV.'s  Chief  Justice,  and 
in  reading  of  him  in  Shakespeare's  pages  we  hardly  know 
whether  to  admire  most  the  dignified  and  high-spirited  Judge 
who  did  not  fear  to  commit  to  prison  the  heir  apparent  to  the 
throne,  or  the  prince  who,  when  he  was  king,  forgot  the  aftront, 
and  bade  the  Chief  Justice  '  still  bear  the  balance  and  the 
sword.'  But  was  Gascoigne  Chief  Justice  to  Henry  V.  at  all  .■* 
Lord  Campbell,  indeed,  asserts  that  he  can  *  prove  to  demon- 
stration that  Sir  William  Gascoigne  actually  filled  the  office 
of  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench  under  Henry  V.'  But  it 
turns  out  that  the  only  evidence  on  which  his  lordship  could 
rely,  is  the  fact  that  in  the  summons  to  Parliament,  dated  the 
day  after  the  accession  of  Henry  V.,  Gascoigne  is  styled 
'  Chief  Justice  of  our  Lord  the  King.'  This  might  be  suffi- 
cient if  there  were  not  strong  proofs  to  the  contrary.  Amongst 
these  are  the  following  : — i.  We  find  Sir  William  Hankford 
filling  Gascoigne's  place  as  one  of  the  triers  of  petitions  in  the 
first  parliament  of  the  new  reign,  and  presiding  in  the  King's 
Bench  in  the  same  year.  2.  In  the  Issue  Roll  of  July,  141 3, 
just  after  the  death  of  Henry  IV.,  he  is  called  'late  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Bench  of  Lord  Henry,  father  of  the  present 
King.'  3.  In  the  inscription  on  his  monument  in  Harewood 
Church,  in  Yorkshire,  dated  1419,  he  is  described  as  '  nuper 
capit.  justic.  de  banco,  Hen.  nuper  regis  Angliae  qiiarti!  We 
consider  the  last  argument  conclusive,  for  if  he  had  been  re- 
appointed Chief  Justice  by  Henry  V.,  his  epitaph  would  have 
not  stopped  short  with  the  mention  of  having  been  '  late  Chief 
Justice  of  the  late   King  Henry  IV.'     A  difficulty  remains 


THE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  139 

owing  to  the  date  given  by  Dugdale  of  Sir  William  Hank- 
ford's  elevation  to  the  Chief  Justiceship,  which  he  places  in 
January,  1414.  Now  Henry  V.  ascended  the  throne  in  March 
141 3,  and  who  was  Chief  Justice  in  the  interval?  Lord 
Campbell  would  naturally  say,  in  accordance  with  the  lan- 
guage of  the  summons  to  Parliament  already  quoted,  Who 
but  Sir  William  Gascoigne  ?  But  Mr.  Foss  has  referred  to 
the  Roll  itself,  containing  Hankford's  appointment,  and  it 
turns  out  that  the  date,  instead  of  being  January  29,  1414,  as 
stated  by  Dugdale,  is  March  29,  141 3,  just  eight  days  after 
Henry's  succession  to  the  Crown.  The  inference,  therefore, 
is  irresistible,  that  so  far  from  the  King  addressing  the  upright 
magistrate  in  the  magnanimous  words  which  Shakespeare  puts 
into  his  mouth — • 

You  did  commit  me  : 
For  which  I  do  commit  into  your  hand 
The  unstained  sword  that  you  have  used  to  bear — ■ 

he  showed  his  resentment  by  depriving  the  Chief  Justice  of 
his  office.  There  is  a  curious  story  told  of  Hankford,  who 
was  Gascoigne's  successor  on  the  Bench,  that,  having  become 
weary  of  his  life,  he  gaye  strict  orders  to  his  keeper  to  shoot 
any  person  found  at  night  in  his  park  who  would  not  stand 
when  challenged,  and  then  throwing  himself  in  the  keeper's 
way,  he  was  shot  dead,  in  accordance  with  his  own  commands. 
But  Mr.  Foss  thinks  that  this  account  of  judicial  suicide  is 
very  improbable,  and  shows  that  at  all  events  Holinshed  repre- 
sents it  as  happening  nearly  fifty  years  after  the  death  of  the 
Chief  Justice. 

In  the  same  way  he  disposes  of  the  tradition  that  Chief 
Justice  Hody,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.,  whom  Coke  calls 
one  of  the  '  famous  and  expert  sages  of  the  law,'  pronounced 
sentence  of  death  upon  his  son  Thomas — who  was  tried  before 
him  at  the  assizes,  and  found  guilty  of  a  capital  crime — by 
showing  that  Thomas  was  a  younger  son,  and  that  the  eldest 
son  of  the  Judge  could  not  have  been  more  than  six  or  seven 
years  old  at  his  father's  death. 

As  another  instance  of  the  conscientious  labour  Mr.  Foss 
has  bestowed  upon  his  work,  we  may  mxcntion  the  trouble  he 
has  taken  to  clear  up  the  pedigree  of  Sir  Thomas  More.  All 
former  biographies  of  the  illustrious  and  unfortunate  Chan- 


140  /ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

cellor,  including  that  by  his  own  son-in-law,  Roper,  are  almost 
entirely  silent  as  to  the  family  from  which  he  sprang.  His 
great  grandson,  Cresacre  More,  wrote  his  life,  and  mistrans- 
lated his  epitaph,  written  by  himself,  *  Thomas  Morus  familia 
non  celebri,  sed  honesta  ortus,'  by  the  words  *  Thomas  More, 
born  of  no  noble  family,  but  of  an  honest  stock.'  No  one  had 
hitherto  discovered  who  his  grandfather  was,  and  the  way  in 
which  Mr.  Foss  ferrets  out  the  conclusion  that  he  was  first 
the  butler,  afterwards  the  steward,  and  finally  the  reader  of 
Lincoln's  Inn,  and  that  his  father  was  also  at  one  time  butler 
of  the  same  Inn,  is  an  instructive  example  of  patient  research 
and  exhaustive  reasoning.  Mr.  Foss  half  apologises  for  the 
space  he  has  devoted  to  the  inquiry,  but  we  think  he  vindi- 
cates himself  successfully  when  he  says,  '  There  is  a  natural 
and  universal  desire  to  know  from  what  stock  a  great  man 
has  descended ;  and  who  is  there,  whether  he  be  lawyer, 
philosopher,  or  historian,  who  will  deny  that  title  to  Sir 
Thomas  More.'''  And  yet,  curiously  enough,  in  his  life  of 
Wolsey,  when  alluding  to  the  tradition  that  his  father  was  a 
butcher,  Mr.  Foss  says,  '  Some  of  his  biographers  have  given 
no  credit  to  the  story,  and  the  question  is  too  immaterial  to 
discuss.' 

We  pride  ourselves,  and  justly,  on  the  purity  of  our  Judges, 
and  perhaps  no  body  of  men,  whose  corporate  existence  ex- 
tends over  eight  centuries,  would  upon  the  whole  come  more 
unstained  out  of  the  ordeal  of  a  searching  inquiry  into  their 
characters.  But  there  are  startling  exceptions,  and  we  can 
only  congratulate  ourselves  that  they  are  things  of  the  past, 
and  are  impossibilities  now.  A  story  is  told  of  the  great 
warrior-judge  and  learned  author,  Ranulph  de  Glanville, 
which,  with  Mr.  Foss,  we  would  willingly  believe  to  be  untrue, 
although  he  gives  no  sufficient  reason  for  doubting  it.  He  is 
said  to  have  unjustly  condemned  Sir  Gilbert  de  Plumpton,  in 
ii<S4,  on  a  charge  of  rape,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the 
knight's  widow,  who  was  a  wealthy  heiress,  to  be  married  to  a 
friend  of  his  own.  Sentence  of  death  was  passed  and  imme- 
diate execution  ordered,  but  the  Bishop  of  Worcester  humanely 
interfered,  and  on  the  case  being  referred  to  the  King,  Sir 
Gilbert's  life  was  spared,  although  he  was  kept  in  imprison- 
ment for  the  rest  of  the  reign. 


THE   JUDGES  OF  ENGLAND.  141 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  Judges  were  in  the 
habit  of  taking  money  from  others  besides  the  King.  The 
Knights  Hospitallers  Survey,  made  in  1328,  mentions  pen- 
sions to  the  amount  of  440/.,  of  which  60/.  were  paid  to  the 
Judges  and  their  clerks,  the  Chief  Baron  receiving  40  marks  ; 
and  a  further  sum  of  200  marks  a  year  is  stated  to  be  spent 
in  presents  made  in  the  Courts  of  the  King  and  the  nobles, 
^ pro  favore  Jiabcndo  et  pro  placitis  defendendis,  et  expensis 
parliamentorum.' 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  wholesale  corruption  disgraced 
the  Bench.  On  his  return  from  France,  in  1289,  he  was  met 
with  heavy  complaints  that  his  Judges  took  bribes  and  gave 
false  judgments.  The  King  immediately  instituted  enquiries, 
and  the  result  was  that  almost  all  the  Judges  were  dismissed 
from  their  office,  and  some  of  them  only  redeemed  themselves 
from  imprisonment  by  the  payment  of  considerable  fines. 
Against  one  of  them,  Thomas  de  Weyland,  a  more  terrible 
charge  was  brought.  He  was  accused  of  having  instigated 
his  servants  to  commit  a  murder,  and  then  screened  them  from 
punishment.  He  was  arrested,  but  contrived  to  escape,  and 
fled  to  the  Sanctuary  of  the  Friars  Minors,  at  St.  Edmonds- 
bury,  where  he  remained  for  forty  days.  Here,  however,  he 
was  starved  into  surrender,  but  was  allowed  to  adjure  the 
realm  without  standing  a  trial,  and  all  his  property,  as  if  he 
were  a  convicted  felon,  was  confiscated  to  the  King's  use. 
Ralph  de  Hengham,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  is 
said  to  have  been  fined  7,000  marks,  or,  according  to  another 
account,  only  800,  which,  if  we  may  believe  tradition,  was  im- 
posed upon  him  for  altering  a  record  by  reducing,  out  of  pity, 
a  penalty  inflicted  upon  a  poor  man  from  13^-.  4^.  to  6s.  2)d. 
Judge  Southcote,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  refused,  on  a 
similar  occasion,  to  tamper  with  the  record,  saying  that  '  he 
meant  not  to  build  a  clock-house  ;'  and  he  added  in  explana- 
tion, '  that  with  Hengham's  fine  the  clock-house  at  West- 
minster was  built,  and  furnished  with  a  clock  to  be  used  in 
the  hall ;'  and  Mr.  Foss  shows  that  the  objection  to  its  pro- 
bability, on  the  ground  that  clocks  did  not  come  into  use  until 
a  hundred  years  afterwards,  is  unfounded,  for  with  his  usual 
antiquarian  accuracy,  he  points  out  that  a  great  clock  was 
put  up  about  the  same  period  in  Canterbury  Cathedral.    That 


142  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  offence  of  Ralph  de  Hengham  was  not  of  a  very  heinous 
kind  seems  to  be  proved  by  the  fact  that  ten  years  afterwards 
he  was  restored  to  the  Bench  ;  but  we  find  his  name  then 
placed  nearly  at  the  bottom  of  the  list  of  Judges  and  other 
officers  who  were  summoned  to  the  Parliament  of  28  Edward 
I.,  as  if  amongst  the  Justices  Itinerant,  He  was  afterwards 
appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and  on  his 
death  was  buried  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  with  an  epitaph  over 
his  remains,  in  which  he  was  called  *  vir  benedictus,'  and  '  Flos 
Anglorum.'  Against  John  de  Lovetoft,  another  of  these  dis- 
graced Judges,  one  of  the  charges  was  that  he  had  taken  a 
verdict  from  eleven  jurors  although  the  twelfth  disagreed  with 
them  ;  and  Adam  de  Stratton,  a  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  is 
more  than  once  styled  '  felo,'  although  the  precise  nature  of 
his  crime  is  not  specified. 

In  the  6th  year  of  Edward  II.,  John  de  Bosco,  one  of  the 
Judges  of  Assize,  was  convicted  of  abstracting  a  King's  writ 
and  substituting  a  false  one  in  its  place.  In  1350,  William  de 
Thorpe,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  was  convicted, 
on  his  own  confession,  of  receiving  bribes  to  stay  justice  ;  and 
a  few  years  afterwards  another  Chief  Justice,  and  the  Chief 
Baron,  were  imprisoned  by  King  Edward  III.,  on  account  of 
many  notorious  enormities  '  which  he  understood  they  had 
committed  against  law  and  justice.' 

When  the  Bench  was  so  corrupt,  we  can  hardly  suppose 
that  the  Bar  was  pure.  The  Statute  of  Westminster,  3  Ed- 
ward I.,  enacts  that  if  '  Serjeant-countors  do  any  manner  of 

deceit  or  collusion   in  the   King's  Court he  shall  be 

imprisoned  for  a  year  and  a  day,  and  from  thenceforth  shall 
not  be  heard  to  plead  in  the  Court  for  any  one.'  What  was 
known  to  the  Roman  law  as  the  base  offence  of  prcEvaricatio, 
to  which  Cicero  more  than  once  alludes,  existed  also  in  Eng- 
land :  for  one  of  the  petitions  to  Parliament,  in  the  i8th  year 
of  Edward  I.,  complains  of  a  counsellor  of  one  party  having 
received  a  bribe  from  the  other,  for  whom  he  procured  a 
verdict.  In  the  same  reign,  William  de  Thorpe,  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  King's  Bench,  was  tried  by  a  Special  Commission 
for  corruption,  and  confessed  that  he  had  received  bribes 
from  several  persons  who  liad  been  indicted  before  him  at 
Lincoln.     For  this  he  was  committed  prisoner  to  the  Tower, 


THE   JUDGES  OF  ENGLAND.  143 

all  his  property  was  confiscated,  and  he  narrowly  escaped 
hanging. 

In  one  of  the  political  songs  published  by  Mr.  Wright, 
amongst  the  volumes  of  the  Camden  Society,  there  is  one 
belonging  to  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  or  Edward  II.,  which 
shows  how  unfavourable  popular  opinion  was  to  the  character 
of  the  Judges.  Mr.  Foss  has  given  a  free  translation  of  the 
poem,  and  we  will  quote  two  of  the  stanzas  : — 

Judges  there  are  whom  gifts  seduce  and  favourites  control, 

Content  to  serve  the  devil  alone,  or  take  him  for  a  toll : 

If  nature's  law  forbid  the  judge  from  selling  his  decree, 

How  dread  to  those  who  finger  bribes  the  punishment  shall  be  ! 

If  comes  some  noble  lady,  in  beauty  and  in  pride, 

^Yith  golden  horns  upon  her  head,  her  suit  he'll  soon  decide  ; 

But  she  who  has  no  charms  nor  friends,  and  is  for  gifts  too  poor, 

Her  business  all  neglected,  she's,  weeping,  shown  the  door. 

It  was  not  every  Judge  who  could  gracefully  decline  a 
gift  like  Sir  Thomas  More.  When  a  rich  widow  who  had 
obtained  from  him  a  decree  against  Lord  Arundel  presented 
him  on  New  Year's-day  with  a  pair  of  gloves  and  forty  pounds 
in  angels  enclosed  in  them,  he  emptied  the  money  in  her  lap 
and  told  her  that  it  was  '  against  good  manners  to  forsake  a 
gentlewoman's  New  Year's  gift ;  he  would  take  her  gloves 
but  refuse  the  lining.'  When  Sir  Christopher  Hatton  sus- 
pended his  secretary  for  taking  fees  to  obtain  the  Chancellor's 
influence  with  the  Queen,  that  officer  addressed  to  him  a 
letter,  in  which  he  says  :  '  There  liveth  not  so  grave  nor  so 
severe  a  Judge  in  England,  but  he  alloweth  his  poor  clerk 
under  him,  even  in  expedition  of  matters  of  greatest  justice, 
to  take  any  reasonable  consideration  that  should  be  offered 
him  by  any  man  for  his  pains  and  travail.' 

In  Sir  Thomas  le  Strange's  household  accounts  for  1537, 
we  find  an  entry  which  shows  that  money  was  paid  to  Lord 
Chancellor  Audley's  servant  'to  be  a  meane  to  my  said  Lord' 
in  a  suit  then  before  the  Court  of  Chancery. 

Whether  the  Judges  sometimes  bought  their  places  is  not 
altogether  clear  ;  but  their  is  a  most  suspicious  entry  in  the 
accounts  of  Sir  Edmund  Dudley,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII., 
where  Robert  Reed,  formerly  a  Judge  of  the  King's  Bench, 
is  stated  to  have  paid,  '  for  the  King's  favour  to  him  in  the 
office  of  Chief  justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  4000  marks.' 


144  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Mr.  Foss  is  not  one  of  those  who  think  it  possible  to  defend 
Lord  Bacon  against  the  charge  of  gross  corruption  while 
filling  the  office  of  Chancellor.  All  that  can  fairly  be  urged 
on  his  behalf,  so  far  as  we  see  at  present,  is  that  he  followed 
a  bad  custom,  and  that  other  Judges  had  done  the  same. 
Fuller  makes  it  a  subject  of  special  praise,  in  his  character  of 
Mr.  Justice  Nichols,  that  he  was  of  'exemplary  integrity 
even  to  the  rejection  of  gratuities  after  judgment  given.'  But 
Bacon  knew  that  the  custom  was  wrong,  and  he  acted  in 
direct  violation  of  the  principle  which  he  laid  down  as  the 
duty  of  a  Judge  when  he  addressed  Mr,  Justice  Hutton,  and 
warned  him  to  remember  '  That  your  hands  and  the  hands  of 
your  hands,  I  mean  those  about  you,  be  clean  and  uncorrupted 
from  gifts.' 

An  entry  in  the  archives  of  the  borough  of  Lyme  Regis 
leaves  it  '  to  the  Mayor's  discretion  what  gratuity  he  will  give 
to  the  Lord  Chief  Baron  and  his  men,'  at  the  assizes  in  1620, 
when  the  charter  of  the  corporation  was  in  question. 

It  was  in  the  weak  reign  of  Richard  II.  that  the  unconsti- 
tutional practice  began  of  extra-judicial  opinions  being  de- 
manded of  the  Judges  by  the  Crown.  But  they  paid  dearly 
for  their  compliance  in  the  first  instance ;  and  it  is  strange 
that  so  terrible  an  example  was  lost  upon  their  successors.  It 
is  of  course  needless  to  point  out  the  evils  of  such  a  course, 
by  which  the  Judges  judged  cases  before  they  tried  them,  and 
became  the  accomplices  of  acts  of  tyranny  and  illegality.  In 
1386  the  Parliament  impeached  De  la  Pole,  Earl  of  Suffolk, 
the  Chancellor,  and  appointed  commissioners,  by  whom  the 
functions  of  Government  were  to  be  performed,  and  the  whole 
expenditure  of  the  kingdom  was  to  be  regulated.  The  ordin- 
ance enacting  this  was  confirmed  by  the  King's  letters  patent. 
Next  year,  however,  the  Chancellor  and  other  fallen  courtiers 
advised  the  King  to  resume  his  authority,  and  the  opinions  of 
the  Judges  were  taken  as  to  the  illegality  of  the  ordinance. 
Sir  Robert  Tresilian,  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  pre- 
pared a  series  of  questions  with  answers  written  beforehand, 
condemning  the  ordinance,  and  laid  them  before  the  Judges, 
who  were  specially  summoned  for  the  purpose.  The  Judges 
attached  their  seals  to  the  answers  ;  but  they  afterwards 
asserted  in  their  defence  that  the  answers  were  forced  upon 


THE   yUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  145 

them  under  threats  and  fears  of  violence.  The  ParHament  was 
enraged,  and  took  energetic  measures  to  avenge  the  affront. 
Tresilian  and  the  courtiers  were  appealed  of  treason,  one  of 
the  charges  against  them  being  that  they  constrained  the 
Judges  to  subscribe  the  answers  to  the  questions.  Tresilian 
fled  for  his  life,  but  was  found  guilty  in  his  absence,  and  sen- 
tenced to  die  the  death  of  a  traitor.  He  might  have  escaped 
had  it  not  been  for  his  folly  in  venturing  back  to  London,  at 
the  instance  of  the  King,  who  was  then  at  Bristol,  to  find  out 
what  further  proceedings  were  contemplated  by  the  Dukes  of 
York  and  Gloucester,  who  had  then  virtually  the  government 
of  the  realm.  He  disguised  himself  as  a  farmer,  and  took  up 
his  lodging  at  an  alehouse,  or,  according  to  another  account, 
an  apothecary's,  opposite  the  palace  gate  at  Westminster  ; 
but  here  he  was  recognised,  and  immediately  arrested.  Being 
asked  what  he  had  to  say  why  execution  should  not  be  done 
according  to  the  judgment  pronounced,  he  was  struck  dumb 
by  terror,  and  making  no  answer,  was  led  away  to  die. 
Froissart  says  he  was  beheaded,  and  afterwards  hanged  on  a 
gibbet  ;  but,  according  to  the  Parliament  Roll,  he  was  taken 
to  the  Tower,  and  thence  drawn  through  the  city  and  hanged 
at  Tyburn.  The  other  Judges  who  had  signed  the  obnoxious 
document  were  impeached  by  the  Commons,  convicted,  and 
sentenced  to  death.  Their  lives  were,  however,  spared,  and 
they  were  all  banished  to  different  parts  of  Ireland,  with  a 
prohibition  from  practising  as  lawyers.  After  the  death  of 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester  the  sentence  was  reversed  by  Parlia- 
ment ;  and,  as  Mr.  Foss  observes,  '  the  subserviency  of  the 
lawyers  to  the  ruling  power  was  again  exhibited  by  the  Chief 
Justices  Walter  de  Clapton  and  William  Thuring,  and  Judge 
Rickhill,  confirming  on  that  occasion  the  opinion  for  which 
their  predecessors  had  suffered.' 

This  '  auricular  taking  of  opinions,'  as  Coke  called  it,  con- 
tinued more  or  less  until  the  Revolution.  King  James  repri- 
manded the  Judges  for  disobeying  his  order  not  to  proceed  in 
a  private  cause  until  they  had  firs-t  consulted  him  ;  and  the 
servile  Bacon  disgraced  himself  by  advising  the  Crown  '  to 
make  some  example  against  the  presumption  of  a  Judge, 
whereby  the  whole  body  of  the  magistrates  may  be  contained 
in  better  awe.'     We  may  forgive  Coke  much  of  the  unfeeling 

L 


146  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

coarseness  with  which  he  conducted  state  prosecutions,  for  the 
noble  stand  he  made  in  asserting  the  independence  of  the 
Bench.  He  twice  resolutely  opposed  the  King  in  his  attempts 
to  interfere  with  it ;  and  when  he  and  the  other  Judges  were 
summoned  before  the  Council  to  account  for  a  judgment  they 
had  given,  he  said  to  the  Lords,  '  We  hope  that  where  [as] 
the  Judges  of  this  realm  have  been  more  often  called  before 
your  Lordships  than  in  former  times  they  have  been,  which 
is  much  observed,  and  gives  much  emboldening  to  the  vulgar, 
that  after  this  day  we  shall  not  be  so  often,  upon  such  com- 
plaints, your  Lordships  being  truly  informed  of  our  proceed- 
ings, called  before  you.'  On  another  occasion  he  boldly  told 
the  King,  'Your  Majesty  is  not  learned  in  the  laws  of  the 
realm  of  England,' 

A  curious  story  is  given  by  Dugdale  in  his  'Baronage,'  which 
Mr.  Foss  quotes,  of  a  dinner  given  in  the  same  reign  by  one 
Beauchamp,  a  litigant  of  certain  lands,  to  his  counsel,  inclu- 
ding Charlton,  one  of  the  Judges,  when,  'after  dinner,  coming 
out  of  his  chappel  in  an  angry  mood,  he  threw  to  each  of 
them  a  piece  of  gold,  and  said,  "  Sirs,  I  desire  you  forthwith 
to  tell  me  whether  I  have  any  right  or  title  to  Hastings  lord- 
ship and  lands  \  "  '  The  lawyers,  however,  would  not  pro- 
phesy deceits,  for  they  told  Beauchamp  plainly  that  his  claim 

was  bad. 

The  Judges  seem  to  have  been  employed  in  old  times  in 
drawing  Acts  of  Parliament  ;  and  we  are  not  sure  that  much 
of  the  confusion,  and  many  of  the  mistakes  which  occur  in 
modern  statutes  might  not  be  avoided  if  they  performed  the 
same  function  now.  At  all  events,  the  Bills  in  Parliament 
might  usefully  be  submitted  to  them  for  revision  before  they 
are  finally  passed.  But  wc  fear  that  the  judicial  staff  is,  un- 
der present  arrangements,  too  much  overworked  to  admit  of 
this.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  L  Chief  Justice  Hengham  said 
to  a  counsel  who  was  putting  his  construction  on  the  statute 
13  Edw.  L,  Westm.  2,  '  Ne  glosez  point  le  statut  :  nous  le 
Savons  meuz  de  vous,  car  nous  les  feimes.' 

The  reigns  of  Henry  VH.  and  his  three  immediate  suc- 
cessors are  with  a  few  exceptions  undistinguished  by  any 
great  judicial  names.  Of  course  those  of  Archbishop  Morton 
and   Cardinal  Wolscy— who  arc,  however,  better  known  a 


THE  JUDGES  OE  ENGLAND.  147 

prelates  than  as  judges — and  Cromwell  and  Sir  Thomas 
More,  will  readily  occur  to  the  reader ;  but  we  do  not  think 
that  a  single  puisne  of  that  time  has  left  behind  him  a  trace 
of  his  existence  which  posterity  will  care  to  remember.  We 
do  not,  however,  doubt  that  many  of  them  deserved  the  same 
eulogium  that  Sir  Edward  Coke  passed  upon  ]\Ir.  Justice 
Gawdy,  who  he  says,  '  was  a  most  re\'erend  judge  and  sage  of 
the  law,  of  ready  and  profound  judgment  and  venerable 
purity,  prudence,  and  integrity  ; '  but  wc  know  little  of  them 
more  interesting  than  is  contained  in  the  epitaph  on  Baron 
Birch,  who  died  in  1581  : — 

Interr'd  the  corps  of  Baron  Circh  lies  here, 
Of  Greyes  Inn,  sometime,  by  degree  esquire  ; 
In  Chequer  eighteen  years  a  Judge  he  was, 
Till  soule  from  aged  body  his  did  passe. 

It  is  impossible  to  add  anything  to  the  testimony  which 
all  writers  have  given  to  the  spotless  character  of  Sir  Thomas 
More.  He  is  one  whom  all  men  delight  to  honour ;  and  his 
judicial  murder  was  one  of  the  foulest  blots  upon  the  reign  of 
his  detestable  master.  Lord  Audley,  who  succeeded  him  as 
Lord  Chancellor,  was  a  mean  and  rapacious  lawyer,  the  ready 
minister  and  tool  of  the  King's  caprice,  who  kept  the  Great 
.Seal  for  twelve  years,  on  the  same  principle  as  that  by  which 
Lord  Keeper  Paulet,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VL,  explained 
his  prosperity  : — 

I  am  a  willow  not  an  oak  : 

I  chide,  but  never  hurt  with  stroke. 

He  fattened  on  Church  plunder,  'carving  for  himself,'  as 
Fuller  quaintly  remarks,  '  on  the  feast  of  the  abbey  lands,  the 
first  cut,  and  that  a  dainty  morsel'  Mr.  Foss  says  of  him 
with  perfect  truth:'  His  interpretations  of  the  law  in  the 
various  criminal  trials  at  which  he  presided  are  a  disgrace  not 
only  to  him,  but  to  every  member  of  the  Bench  associated 
with  him  ;  while  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  are  equally 
chargeable  with  the  ignominy  of  passing  the  Acts  he  intro- 
duced, perilling  every  man's  life  by  the  new  treasons  they 
invented,  and  every  man's  conscience  by  the  extraordinary 
oaths  they  imposed.' 


148  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

The  life  and  character  of  Coke,  the  oracle  of  the  common 
law,  are  so  well  known  that  it  is  needless  to  dwell  on  them. 
He  was  a  proud  and  arrogant  man,  and  a  harsh  advocate  ; 
but  he  was  a  fearless  and  upright  judge  at  a  time  when 
corruption  was  rife  in  almost  every  department  of  the  state. 
Judge  Whitelock  says  of  him,  '  Never  was  a  man  so  just,  so 
upright,  so  free  from  corrupt  solicitations  of  great  men  and 
friends  as  he  was  ;  never  put  Counsellors  that  practised  before 
him  to  annual  pensions  of  money  or  plate  to  have  his  favour. 
In  all  causes  before  him  the  Counsel  might  assure  his  client 
from  the  danger  of  bribery.'  But  it  would  be  unfair  to  omit 
mention  of  Lord  Chancellor  EUesmere,  who  held  the  Great 
Seal  for  seven  years  under  Elizabeth,  and  for  nearly  fourteen 
years  under  James  I.,  amidst  the  universal  applause  of  his 
contemporaries.  Bishop  Racket  describes  him  as  one  'qui 
nihil  in  vita  nisi  laudandum  aut  fecit  aut  dixit  aut  sensit  ; ' 
and  the  very  exaggeration  of  this  praise  shows  the  estimation 
in  which  he  was  held. 

The   strange    and    improbable    story    that    Chief   Justice 
Popham,  in  the  same  reign,  became  the  owner  of  Littlecote, 
in  Wiltshire,  as  his  reward  for  allowing  Darrell,  the  former 
proprietor,  to    escape  on   his  trial  for  an   atrocious  murder, 
which  forms  the  subject  of  Scott's  ballad  in  '  Rokeby,'  '  The 
Friar  of  Orders  Grey,'  is  entirely  discredited  by  Mr.  Foss  ;  and 
we  agree  with  him  that   it  would   be  curious  to  trace  the 
circumstances  to  which  such  a  tradition  owes  its  origin,  but 
we   fear  that   this  is  now  impossible.     Does    any   record   or 
document  exist  to  show  that  a  man,  named  Darrell,  was  tried 
at  that  period  for  such  a  crime  .?     Mr.  Foss  suggests  that  '  if 
the  petition,  which  Sir  Francis  Bacon  in  his  argument  against 
Mollis  and   others   for   traducing  public   justice,  states   was 
presented  to  Queen  Elizabeth  against  Chief  Justice  Popham, 
and  which,  after  investigation  by  four  Privy  Councillors,  was 
dismissed  as  slanderous,  could  be  found,  it  might  possibly 
turn    out  that  this   story  was  the  slander  ;    and    the    Chief 
Justice's  subsec^ucnt  enjoyment  of  his  high  office  would  be  a 
sufficient  proof  of  its  utter  falsehood.' 

It  is  certain  that,  notwithstanding  the  high  culogium 
passed  upon  Popham  by  Lord  Ellcsmere  and  Sir  Edward 
Co!:e,  an  evil  tradition  clings  to  his  name  ;  for  he  is  said  in 


THE  JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  149 

his  wild  youth  to  have  gone  on  the  highway  and  taken  purses 
as  a  common  robber. 

We  wish  that  Mr.  Foss  had  been  a  httle  more  expHcit  in 
informing  us  how  the  business  of  the  courts  of  justice,  both  at 
Westminster  and  in  the  provinces,  was  carried  on  during  the 
great  Rebelhon.  We  beheve  that  the  Judges  went  circuit  as 
usual,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  proof  of  what  we  may  call  the 
stable  equilibrium  of  the  English  nation  and  its  reverence  for 
law,  that  in  the  midst  of  contending  armies  causes  should  be 
decided  and  the  gaols  be  delivered,  as  in  a  time  of  profound 
peace.  In  the  confusion  that  followed  after  the  King's  murder 
it  was  different  : — ■ 

'  Tlie  expulsion  of  the  Parliament,'  says  Mr.  Foss,  'put  a  stop  for  a  time  to 
legal  business,  and  in  the  following  October  the  hearing  of  causes  in  Chancery 
was  suspended  for  a  month  while  the  Bill  for  the  suppression  of  the  Court  was 
under  discussion.  In  the  summer  of  1654  the  Assizes  were  delayed  by  an  Ordi- 
nance of  Council  that  none  of  the  Judges  should  go  out  of  town  till  further  order  ; 
and  in  the  disordered  state  of  the  nation,  after  the  return  of  the  Long  Parliament, 
there  were  no  less  than  three  terms  lost,  all  writs,  fmes,  and  assurances  were 
"stopped,  and  there  was  danger  of  having  no  Assizes.' 

With  respect  to  the  Protectorate,  he  says  : — ■ 

Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  of  the  general  merits  or  dements  of  the 
actors  in  the  great  Rebellion,  all  parties  must  allow  that,  judging  from  most  of  the 
legal  appointments,  it  was  the  desire  and  endeavour  of  the  usurping  powers  to 
keep  the  course  of  justice  uncontaminated,  and  to  preserve  respect  for  the  admin- 
istration of  the  lav.-s.  With  few  exceptions  the  Judges  of  the  interregnum  were 
men  capable  and  respectable,  and  in  some  instances  of  high  character  and  attain- 
ments. 

Lord  Shaftesbury,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  was  the  last 
Judge  who  was  not  previously  a  regularly  trained  lawyer. 
He,  however,  like  Sir  Christopher  Flatton,  had  studied  law  in 
his  youth,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Lincoln's  Inn. 
We  need  not  give  the  details  of  his  versatile  career  as  Member 
of  Parliament,  soldier,  courtier,  and  statesman.  A  Royalist 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Civil  War,  he  soon  deserted  the 
cause  of  the  King  and  commanded  the  army  of  the  parlia- 
ment in  Dorsetshire,  where  he  took  Wareham,  Blandford  and 
Abbotsbury.  During  the  Protectorate  he  sat  in  the  Barcboncs 
Parliament,  and 

Bartering  his  venal  wit  for  sums  of  gold, 

lie  cast  himself  into  the  saint-like  mould  : 

Groan'd,  sighed,  and  prayed  while  godliness  was  gain,  ^ 

The  loudest  bagpipe  of  the  squeaking  train. 


I50  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

He  joined  General  Monk  when  he  saw  that  the  restoration  of 
the  King  was  probable,  and  was  one  of  the  deputation  sent 
by  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  to  the  Hague  to  invite 
Charles  H.  to  return.  He  was  afterwards  created  a  peer. 
When  the  Great  Seal  was  taken  from  Lord  Keeper  Bridgman, 
it  was  given  to  him,  and  the  new  Lord  Chancellor  astonished 
the  lawyers  by  the  dress  he  wore  while  occupying  the  marble 
chair,  '  He  sat  on  the  bench  in  an  ash-coloured  gown,  silver- 
laced,  and  full-ribboned  pantaloons  displayed,  without  any 
black  at  all  in  his  garb.'  But  he  surprised  them  still  more  by 
the  excellence  of  his  decisions,  which  extorted  from  Dryden 
his  well-known  and  noble  eulogium  ;  and  King  Charles  is 
said  to  have  declared  he  had  a  Chancellor  '  that  was  master 
of  more  law  than  all  his  Judges,  and  was  possessed  of  more 
divinity  than  all  his  Bishops.'  He  did  not,  however,  hold  his 
high  office  long,  for  in  less  than  a  year  he  was  compelled  to 
resign  the  Great  Seal,  and  became  for  the  rest  of  his  life  a 
turbulent  and  factious  opponent  of  the  Court  until  he  died  a 
fugitive  at  Amsterdam  in  1683. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Nottingham,  'the  English 
Cicero,'  '  the  smooth-tongued  solicitor,'  and  '  father  of  equity,' 
one  of  the  ablest  Chancellors  and  purest  Judges  who  have 
ever  adorned  the  Bench.  To  him  we  owe  the  Statute  of 
Frauds,  every  line  of  which,  Lord  Campbell  somewhere  declares 
'  deserves  a  subsidy.'  Roger  North,  whose  mind  was  as  little 
as  his  style  is  detestable,  does  his  best  to  depreciate  him,  calling 
him  a  formalist,  '  supposing  that  if  he  split  the  hair,  and  with 
his  gold  scales  determined  reasonably  on  one  side  of  the 
motion,  justice  was  nicely  done.'  Lord  Campbell  says  that 
he  '  fully  deserves  all  the  praise  that  has  been  bestowed  upon 
him  as  a  consummate  lawyer,'  and  only  takes  exception  to 
his  character  as  a  politician.  But  those  were  times  that  tried 
men's  souls,  and  we  need  not  be  surprised  that  tlie  lawyers 
were  skilled  in  the  art  of  tergiversation.  Sir  Harbottle  Grim- 
ston  had  been  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  active  amongst 
the  party  of  the  Parliament,  and  was  one  of  the  Commission- 
ers selected  to  negociate  with  Charles  L  in  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
But  he  did  not  go  so  far  as  others.  He  wished  the  monarchy 
to  be  prcscr\^ed,  and  was  in  consequence  of  his  opinions  ex- 
cluded from  the  House  of  Commons      On  the  King's  return 


THE    JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  151 

he  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  Convention  Padiament,  and 
his  style  of  oratory  may  be  appreciated  by  the  following  spe- 
cimen, taken  from  his  speech  previous  to  the  dissolution  : 
'  We  must  needs  be  a  happy  parliament,  a  healing  parliament, 
a  reconciling  and  peaceful  parliament,  a  parliament  propter 
cxccllcntiam,  that  may  be  truly  called  parliaincntissimnvi  par- 
liamcntuni!  He  was  afterwards  made  Master  of  the  Rolls, 
and  held  the  office  for  twenty-six  years,  dying  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-nine.  He  owed  his  success  as  a  lawyer  ori- 
ginally to  love ;  for  having  formed  an  attachment  to  a 
daughter  of  Sir  George  Croke,  the  Judge  told  him  that  he 
should  not  have  her  unless  he  resumed  the  profession  that  he 
had  abandoned. 

One  great  object  of  Lord  Campbell's  hatred  is  Lord 
Keeper  Guilford,  of  whose  life  we  know  the  minutest  details 
from  the  gossiping  biography  of  his  brother  Roger  North. 
Lord  Campbell  calls  him  '  one  of  the  most  odious  men  who 
ever  held  the  Great  Seal  of  England — selfish,  cunning,  sneak- 
ing, and  unprincipled,'  and  says  that  '  throughout  his  whole 
life  he  sought  and  obtained  advancement  by  the  meanest 
acts.'  We  have  no  great  admiration  for  Lord  Guilford  ;  but 
the  character  here  given  is  grossly  overcharged.  We  think 
that  a  much  fairer  estimate  of  the  Judge  has  been  made  by 
Mr.  Roscoe,  in  his  '  Lives  of  Eminent  British  Lawyers,'  who 
says,  '  He  was  unstained  by  that  loose  prostitution  in  politics 
and  by  that  abandoned  corruption  which  darkened  the  char- 
acters of  Sunderland  and  Jeffreys.  Honest  in  his  opinions 
and  in  the  expression  of  them,  he  refused  on  more  than  one 
occasion  to  sacrifice  them  to  his  interests.  But  his  character 
was  altogether  destitute  of  elevation.  He  was  thus  led  into 
meannesses,  and  sometimes  Into  compliances,  which  men  of 
loftier  principles  would  have  despised.' 

Amongst  all  the  Judges  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  indeed  in  the  whole  list  from  the  time  of 
the  Conqueror  to  the  present  day,  there  is  no  one  whose  name 
stands  higher  than  that  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale.  Great  as  a 
lawyer  and  excellent  as  a  man,  his  reputation  shines  brighter 
as  time  goes  on,  and  there  is  no  Judge  upon  whose  character 
we  dwell  more  fondly  than  that  of  this  pious  and  upright 
magistrate.     He  was  raised  to  the  Bench  by  Cromwell,  but  on 


152  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  death  of  the  Protector  refused  to  accept  a  new  commission 
from  the  feeble  Richard.  At  the  Restoration  he  was  made 
Chief  Baron,  and  eleven  years  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the 
King's  Bench,  which  office  he  resigned  in  1676,  when  ill-health 
and  increasing  infirmities  made  him  feel  that  he  could  not 
discharge  it  efficiently.  His  resignation  was  looked  upon  as  a 
national  loss,  and  when  Lord  Chancellor  Finch  addressed  his 
successor,  Sir  Richard  Rainsford,  he  spoke  of  the  'deplorable 
cause '  which  occasioned  it,  and  said  that  *  the  infirmity  of 
that  body,  which  began  to  forsake  the  ablest  mind  that  ever 
presided  there,  hath  filled  the  kingdom  with  lamentations, 
and  given  the  King  many  and  pensive  thoughts  how  to  supply 
that  vacancy  again.'  It  has  been  made  matter  of  reproach  to 
his  memory  that  he  condemned  to  death  two  wretched 
women  convicted  before  him  of  the  crime  of  witchcraft ;  but 
if  he  believed  in  witches,  so  also  did  Bacon  and  Sir  Thomas 
Browne,  and  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  administer  the  law,  and 
witchcraft  was  then  a  capital  crime.  Mr.  P'oss  takes  the  right 
view  when  he  says  : — 

The  censurers  forget  that,  as  a  Judge,  he  was  bound  to  administer  the  law  as 
it  stood,  without  regard  either  to  its  severity  or  even  its  absurdity  ;  that  the  evi- 
dence, though  in  these  enlightened  days  it  might  be  deemed  puerile  and  uncon- 
vincing, being  cumulatively  circumstantial  and  entirely  imcontradicted,  fully 
satisfied  the  jury,  whose  verdict  left  the  Judge  no  choice  but  to  pronounce  the 
sentence  enjoined  by  the  statute,  and  that  they  might  as  justly  condemn  every 
Judge  who,  contrary  to  his  own  private  feeling,  has  doomed  a  prisoner  to  capital 
punishment  under  an  Act  that  has  been  since  repealed.  In  censuring  him  for  his 
belief  in  witchcraft,  they  should  remember  that  it  was  the  almost  universal  per- 
suasion of  the  time,  in  M'hich  he  had  for  his  associates  some  of  the  most  eminent 
men  of  all  ages,  and  which  even  now  is  not  wholly  abandoned. 

And  yet  one  cannot  but  heartily  wish  that  he  had  had  the 
good  sense  in  this  matter  of  Judge  Powell,  in  tlie  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  who,  when  a  woman  was  tried  before  him  for 
witchcraft,  and  charged  with  being  able  to  fiy,  asked  her 
whether  she  could  fiy,  and  on  her  confessing  the  crime,  said, 
'  well,  then,  you  may  ;  there  is  no  law  against  flying.' 

But  in  the  same  reign  the  judicial  Bench  was  disgraced  by 
the  appointment  of  such  men  as  Scroggs,  Jeffreys,  and  Wright. 
Of  Scroggs  and  Jeffreys  it  is  needless  to  speak.  Their  names 
have  become  a  by-word  for  savage  cruelty  and  brutal  perver- 
sion of  justice.  Wright  was  made  a  Baron  of  the  Exchequer 
in  1684,  and  succeeded  Herbert  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's 


THE    JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  153 

Bench  under  James  II.  Lord  Keeper  North,  who  was  pressed 
by  Jeffreys  to  raise  him  to  the  Bench,  told  the  King  that  *  he 
was  a  dunce  and  no  lawyer,  of  no  truth  or  honesty,  guilty  of 
perjury,  and  not  worth  a  groat,  having  spent  all  his  estate  in 
debauched  living.'  He  died  a  prisoner  in  Newgate  imme- 
diately after  the  Revolution.  Saunders,  who  was  one  of  the 
Chief  Justices  made  by  Charles  II.,  was  a  coarse  and  vulgar 
beast,  but  an  acute  lawyer  and  upright  Judge.  In  the  graphic 
portrait  of  him  by  Roger  North,  who  called  him  *  a  mere 
lump  of  morbid  flesh,'  he  says  :  '  As  to  his  ordinary  dealing, 
he  was  as  honest  as  the  driven  snow  was  white  ;  and  why  not, 
having  no  regard  for  money,  or  desire  to  be  rich.' 

'  As  for  the  Judges,  they  are  most  of  them  rogues,'  was  the 
opinion  expressed  by  Jeffreys  to  Lord  Clarendon  when  he 
spoke  of  the  Bench  in  the  reign  of  James  II.  ;  and  as  he  was 
the  Chancellor  who  had  appointed  most  of  them,  we  need  not 
dispute  his  authority.  They  were  in  truth  a  miserable  set. 
Perhaps  we  ought  to  except  Chief  Baron  Atkyns,  Mr.  Justice 
Charleton,  Chief  Justice  Herbert,  Mr.  Justice  HoUoway — who 
was  one  of  the  first  passengers  in  the  'flying  coach  .... 
having  a  boot  on  each  side,'  that  started  from  Oxford  to  Lon- 
don in  May,  1669,  and  performed  the  journey  in  thirteen 
hours — and  Sir  Crcsswell  Levintz.  When  Baron  Heath  was 
asked  how  he  had  the  conscience  to  declare  the  petition  of 
the  Seven  Bishops  a  factious  libel,  he  answered,  '  You  need 
not  trouble  yourself  with  what  I  said  on  the  Bench  ;  I  have 
instructions  for  what  I  said,  and  I  had  lost  viy  place  if  I  had 
not  said  it'  And  of  course  we  must  except  Mr.  Justice 
Powell,  the  bold  defender  on  the  Bench  of  law  and  justice,  at 
the  trial  of  the  Seven  Bishops,  of  Avhom  we  regret  to  find  that 
Mr.  Foss  can  give  us  only  the  most  meagre  information. 

Amongst  the  immense  benefits  conferred  by  the  Revolu- 
tion, not  the  least  has  been  that  of  the  increased  independence 
and  higher  character  of  the  Judges.  '  It  is,'  says  Mr.  Foss, 
'  one  of  the  glories  of  the  Revolution  that  it  forms  a  new  era 
in  our  judicial  history.  Great  was  the  immediate  change  in 
the  administration  of  justice.  The  Bench  was  no  longer 
disgraced  by  coarse  and  savage  brutality,  or  by  servile  and 
courtly  obsequiousness  ;  the  principles  of  law  were  more 
strictly  defined,  and  its  practice  more  decently  conducted  ; 


154  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

there  were  no  longer  any  violent  dismissals  or  convenient 
political  resignations ;  and  the  Judges  succeeded  each  other 
in  quiet  independence,  scarcely  ever  leaving  the  seats  they 
occupied  till  incapacitated  by  infirmity,  or  removed  by 
death.' 

The  name  of  Somers  towers  above  them  all  ;  but  we 
ought  not  to  forget  Sir  Robert  Atkyns,  Chief  Baron  of  the 
Exchequer,  who  at  an  earlier  period  boldly  resisted  King 
James's  attempt  to  dispense  by  his  prerogative  with  penal 
statutes,  and  who  had  a  high  reputation  as  a  lawyer.  Lord 
Somers  was  the  son  of  an  attorney,  and  born  at  Worcester 
in  1650.  While  toiling  laboriously  in  his  profession,  he  found 
time  for  literature,  translating  Ovid,  and  publishing  pamphlets, 
or,  as  they  were  then  called,  tracts.  The  story  is  well  known 
that  when  Pollexfen  was  offered  a  retainer  to  defend  the 
Seven  Bishops,  he  refused  to  accept  it  unless  a  brief  was  also 
given  to  Somers,  and  the  objection  taken  to  his  being  em- 
ployed was  that  he  was  too  }-oung  and  obscure.  And  yet  he 
was  then  thirty-seven  years  old,  and  must  have  had  consider- 
able business  in  the  Courts,  as  is  proved  by  the  compliment 
paid  to  him  by  Lord  Chancellor  Nottingham  some  years 
before,  who,  when  Somers  modestly  declined  to  take  up  the 
time  of  the  Court  going  over  the  same  ground  as  had  been 
occupied  by  his  leaders,  said,  '  Pray  go  on,  sir ;  I  sit  in  this 
place  to  hear  everybody  ;  you  never  repeat,  nor  will  you  take 
up  any  time,  and,  therefore,  I  shall  listen  to  )ou  with 
pleasure.'  He  was  one  of  the  managers  of  the  Conference 
with  the  Lords  on  the  question  of  retaining  the  word  '  abdi- 
cated '  with  reference  to  James's  abandonment  of  the  throne, 
and  was  appointed  Lord  Keeper  in  1693,  and  afterwards 
received  the  title  of  Lord  Chancellor  with  a  peerage  in  1697. 
When  the  Tories  came  into  power  at  the  latter  end  of 
William's  reign.  Lord  Somers  was  forced  to  resign  ;  and  next 
year  he  was  impeached  by  the  House  of  Commons  on  various 
charges,  one  of  which  was  that  he  had  advised  the  Treaty  of 
Partition  of  the  Spanish  Monarchy,  *  whereby  large  territories 
were  to  be  given  up  to  P^rancc  ; '  another,  that  he  obtained 
extraordinary  grants  for  his  own  benefit  ;  another,  that  he 
had  granted  a  commission  to  the  sea  rover,  W^illiam  Kidd,  on 
the  understanding  that  he  was  to  share  in  the  profits  of  his 


THE  JUDGES  OF  ENGLAND.  155 

piracy  ;  and,  lastly,  that  he  \vas  guilty  of  maladministration 
in  his  Court  by  delays  and  illegal  orders.  He  gave  in  full 
and  satisfactory  answers  to  all  these  charges,  and  the  pro- 
ceedings against  him  were  ultimately  stopped  by  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Parliament,  in  December,  1701.  Under  Queen 
Anne,  he  became  Lord  President  of  the  Council,  and  held  the 
office  for  two  years.  He  survived  the  queen  two  years,  and 
held  a  place  in  the  Cabinet  without  office  under  George  I., 
dying  at  last,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six,  of  a  paralytic  affisction, 
which  reduced  him  to  a  state  of  imbecility.  P'^ew  men  have 
had  the  good  fortune  to  be  omni  laudc  anmdati,  like  Lord 
Somers.  Swift,  indeed,  when  he  turned  Tory,  abused  him  ; 
but  Swift,  while  a  Whig,  had  extolled  him  as  the  Aristides  of 
his  country.  A  great  la^^yer,  a  ripe  scholar,  a  pure-minded 
patriot,  and  a  statesman,  he  descended  to  the  grave,  beloved 
and  lamented  by  his  country,  and  its  verdict  of  applause  has 
been  ratified  by  posterity. 

By  far  the  most  conspicuous  figure  on  the  Common  Law 
Bench  in  William's  reign  is  Chief  Justice  Holt,  whose  patent 
was  dated  April,  1689.  He  presided  over  the  King's  Bench 
for  twenty-one  years,  that  is,  during  the  whole  of  the  reign  of 
King  William,  and  two-thirds  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne, 
'  during  which  period,'  says  ]\Ir.  Foss,  '  the  administration  of 
justice  was  distinguished  by  learning,  sagacity,  and  integrity, 
and  freed  from  the  suspicion  of  private  bias  or  courtly 
dictation  ;  most  effectually  securing  the  confidence  and  com- 
manding the  applause  of  all  parties,  whether  Whigs  or  Tories, 
from  the  contrast  it  presented  to  the  experience  of  the  pre- 
ceding thirteen  years.'  He  seems  to  have  been  the  model 
of  a  great  and  upright  magistrate,  whom  neither  fear  nor 
favour  could  move  a  hair's  breadth  from  the  path  of  duty. 
In  one  instance  his  regard  for  strict  law  has,  we  think,  justly 
exposed  him  to  the  charge  of  inhumanity.  On  the  trials  of 
Charnock  and  others  for  high  treason,  the  prisoners  applied 
to  have  counsel  allowed  to  speak  for  them,  under  the  pro- 
visions of  an  Act  then  recently  passed,  which  was  to  come 
into  operation  the  vciy  next  day.  But  the  Chief  Justice 
refused,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  bound  by  the  law  as  it 
then  stood  ;  and  he  also  refused  to  put  off  the  trial.  It  is 
impossible  not  to  censure  such  conduct  in  the  strongest  terms, 


156  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

and  it  remains  an  indelible  blot  upon  the  otherwise  stainless 
character  of  Holt.  Perhaps  by  nothing  is  he  more  popularly 
known  than  the  story  of  his  famous  answer  in  the  Aylesbury 
case,  when  he  is  said  to  have  told  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  who  came  to  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench  with 
3. posse  comitatus  of  members  to  summon  the  Chief  Justice  to 
the  bar  of  the  House,  '  I  sit  here  as  an  interpreter  of  the  laws, 
and  a  distributor  of  justice,  and  if  the  whole  House  of  Com- 
mons were  in  your  belly  I  would  not  stir  one  foot.' 

But,  alas  !  for  the  veracity  of  anecdotes.  It  is  extra- 
ordinary how  few  of  them  that  are  current  in  the  world  will 
stand  the  test  of  investigation.  Lord  Campbell,  in  his  '  Lives 
of  the  Chief  Justices,'  has  shown  that  the  story  cannot  be 
true,  and  that  no  such  proceeding  ever  took  place.  It  is,  we 
believe,  impossible  now  to  ascertain  the  cause  and  origin  of 
such  a  remarkable  apostrophe  being  attributed  to  the  Chief 
Justice,  which  has  been  handed  down  with  a  circumstantiality 
that  has  all  the  appearance  of  truth.  On  the  removal  of  Lord 
Somers,  Holt  w^as  pressed  to  accept  the  Great  Seal,  but  he 
declined  the  honour,  excusing  himself  by  saying  'that  he 
never  had  but  one  Chancery  cause  in  his  life,  which  he  lost  ; 
and,  consequently,  could  not  think  himself  fitly  qualified  for 
so  great  a  trust.' 

The  eighteenth  century  is  not  distinguished  by  many 
great  judicial  names.  Lords  Talbot,  Hardwicke,  and  Camden, 
in  Equity,  and  Lord  Mansfield  in  Common  Law,  are  splendid 
exceptions  to  what  we  must  consider  upon  the  whole  the 
respectable  mediocrity  of  the  Bench.  But  we  ought  not  to 
forget  Mr.  Justice  Blackstone,  whose  '  Commentaries  on  the 
Laws  of  England,'  written  with  the  profound  learning  of  a 
lawyer  and  the  grace  of  an  accomplished  scholar,  entitle  him 
to  the  lasting  gratitude  of  the  profession  and  the  public,  and 
who  Avas  also  a  most  distinguished  judge  ;  nor  Mr.  Justice 
Bullcr,  whose  reputation  for  legal  knowledge,  although  some- 
what of  the  narrowest  kind,  has  never  been  surpassed,  and 
whose  character  for  impartiality  and  acuteness  was  such,  that 
it  was  said  of  him  that  no  person  if  guilty  w^ould  choose  to  be 
tried  by  him,  but  all  persons  if  innocent  would  prefer  him  for 
their  judge.  The  beginning  of  the  century  opened  gloomily 
for  the  law.     A  Lord  Chancellor  was  impeached  and  found 


THE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  157 

guilty  of  corruption.     We   are   not   going   to   defend    Lord 
Macclesfield,  who  made  a  vicious  system  worse  by  the  sordid 
and    extortionate    way  in    which    he   profited   by  it,   but    in 
fairness    it    must    be   remembered   that  the  crime  of  selling 
offices    in   his    Court,    of    which    he    was    convicted,    was    a 
gangrene  of  long  standing,  and  had  been  practised  time  out 
of  mind  by  his  predecessors.     Mr.  Foss   says  with    perfect 
truth,    '  The    sale   of  the   lucrative  offices  of  the    Court   of 
Chancery  was  a  subject  of  notoriety,  and  was  considered  as 
part  of  the  legitimate  profit  of  its  heads,  and  had  even  been 
in  some  sort  recognised  by  Parliament.'    Nor  was  the  practice 
confined  to  the  Courts  of  Chancery  even  after  the  Revolution. 
Luttrell  mentions  in  his  Diary  that  a  philazer's  place  had 
fallen  to  Chief  Justice  Treby  in   1695,  and  another  in  1696, 
'worth  1,000/.'     Lord  Chancellor  Harcourt  and  Lord  Chan- 
cellor   Cowper    both    received    considerable    sums    for   the 
appointments   of  Masters  in  Chancery,  and  it  was  only  in 
consequence  of  the  insolvency  of  one  of  such  Masters  who 
had  ruined  himself  in  the  South  Sea  Bubble,  that  the  iniquity 
of  the  system  was  brought  to  light  and  Lord  Macclesfield 
was  condemned.     The  articles  of  impeachment  charged  him 
with  selling  offices  contrary  to  law,  and  with  taking  extor- 
tionate   sums   for   them,    knowing   that    the    payment    was 
defrayed  out  of  the  suitors'  money.     The  gist  of  the  offence 
in  his  case  was  the  extortion.     He  had  increased  the  prices 
of  offices  in  his  gift  so  enormously  that  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible for  the  holders  to  reimburse  themselves,  or  even  pay  the 
amount,  without   making  an   improper  use  of  the  money  of 
which   they  v.^ere  the    depositees.     '  That    he    employed    an 
agent,'   says   Mr.   Foss,   'to  bargain    for   him    and   to   higgle 
about  the  price,  there  is  no  doubt  ;  and  that  he  was  aware  of 
the  improper  use  made  of  the  suitors'  money,  and  took  means 
to  conceal  the  losses  that  occasionally  occurred,  there  is  too 
much   evidence.'     He  was  found    guilty  by  the   Lords,  and 
sentenced  to  pay  the  enormous  fine  of  30,000/.     As  a  proof, 
however,  that  the  prices  paid  by  the  Masters  for  their  places 
was  considered  a  legitimate  part  of  a   Chancellor's  profits,  it 
deserves    mention    that  Lord    Macclesfield's   immediate  suc- 
cessor. Lord  King,  had  a  considerable  addition  made  to  his 


158         ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

salary,  as  a  compensation  for  the  loss  occasioned  by  the  stop 
put  to  the  practice  by  the  result  of  the  trial. 

The  same  century  saw  the  strange  spectacle  of  a  Judge 
upon  the  Bench  who  had  been  formerly  tried  for  murder. 
Spencer  Cowper,  a  younger  brother  of  the  Chancellor,  who 
was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  1727,  had,  as 
a  young  man,  gone  the  Home  Circuit,  and  at  Hertford  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  girl  named  Sarah  Stout.  At  the  Spring 
Assizes  of  1699  he  dined  at  her  mother's  house  in  her  com- 
pany. After  the  dinner  they  both  left  the  house,  but  there 
was  no  evidence  to  show  that  they  both  left  it  together. 
Stout's  body  was  afterwards  found  in  the  neighbouring  river, 
and  Cowper  and  three  others  were  indicted  for  murder.  There 
really  was  no  evidence  incriminating  them  worth  a  straw,  and 
it  is  clear  that  the  girl  drowned  herself  from  disappointed 
love  ;  but  owing  to  the  feebleness  and  stupidity  of  Baron 
Hatsell,  who  tried  the  case,  they  ran  some  risk  of  being 
hanged,  for  the  jury  were  out  half  an  hour  considering  their 
verdict.  Nothing  could  be  more  deplorably  weak  than  the 
Judge's  summing  up,  who  actually  on  a  trial  for  life  and 
death  concluded  by  saying  to  the  Jury,  '  I  am  sensible  I  have 
omitted  many  things,  but  I  am  a  little  faint,  and  cannot  re- 
peat any  more  of  the  evidence.' 

We  know,  unfortunately,  too  little  of  Lord  Chancellor 
Talbot  to  be  able  to  appreciate  the  high  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held  by  his  contemporaries.^  But  the  universal  regret 
felt  at  his  death,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  fifty-three,  is 
his  best  eulogium.  Mr.  Foss  says,  '  no  man  ever  occupied  the 
high  position  he  had  attained  with  more  unmixed  admiration ; 
nor  did  the  death  of  any  great  judicial  dignitary  ever  cause  so 
much  general  lamentation.  .  .  .  The  purity  of  his  life,  his 
unblemished  integrity,  his  humanity  to  the  distressed,  his 
liberality  to  all,  his  gentleness  of  manners,  his  urbanity,  cheer- 

1  Lord  Campbell  says   of  the  late  of  his  ancestor I  make  this 

Lord    Dynevor,   a  descendant  of  Lord  complaint  only  as  an  apology  -for  not 

Chancellor    Talbot,     '  This    venerable  being  able  to  tell  more  of  the  private 

nobleman   is   in   possession  of  all  the  histoiy    of    Lord    Chancellor    Talbot, 

Chancellor's    papers,    but    declmes    to  which,   perhaps,    might   have   been   as 

allow  any  use   to   be   made   of  them,  full  and  as  interesting  as  that  of  Lord 

which  seems  to  me  very  strange,  as  I  Chancellor    Cowper. — 'Lives    of    the 

am  sure  that  nothing  can  appear  among  Chancellors,'  vol,  iv.  p.  687. 
them  that  would  not  be  for  the  honour 


THE   JUDGES   OF  ENGLAND.  159 

fulness  and  wit,  gained  him  so  many  friends,  and  were  so 
universally  recognised,  that  he  not  only  escaped  the  vitupera- 
tion of  political  writers  during  his  life,  but  both  parties  after 
his  death  vied  with  each  other,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  in 
unqualified  encomium  on  his  character.'  Lord  Campbell  says 
of  him,  'As  an  Equity  Judge,  Lord  Talbot  exceeded  all  the 
high  expectations  which  had  been  formed  of  him.  In  my  long 
journey  from  the  reign  of  Ethelred  to  that  of  George  IV.,  I 
find  this  Chancellor  alone  without  an  accuser,  without  an 
enemy,  without  a  detractor,  w^ithout  any  one  from  malice  or 
mistake  to  cavil  at  any  part  of  his  character,  conduct,  or 
demeanour,  .  .  .  He  never  even  incurred  a  suspicion  of  cor- 
ruption in  the  disposal  of  offices,  or  of  undue  influence  in  his 
decrees.' 

If,  however,  we  have  reason  to  regret  the  want  of  details  for 
the  complete  life  of  such  a  man,  it  is  w^ith  him  that  our  regret 
ceases.  Succeeding  Chancellors  and  Chief  Justices  and  Judges 
of  whom  we  care  to  know  anything  have  so  often  sat  for  their 
portraits,  that  we  confess  when  we  see  or  hear  of  a  new  bio- 
graphy of  any  of  them,  we  feel  something  like  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  dog,  which  used  to  run  away  with  a  growl  when  he  saw 
a  painter  enter  his  master's  room  with  an  easel  and  a  brush  in 
his  hand. 

To  say  nothing  of  Lord  Campbell's  '  Lives,'  and  Lord 
Brougham's  vigorous  sketches,  Roscoe,  and  Welsby,  and 
Harris,  and  Twiss,  and  Townshend,  have  made  us  familiar 
with  the  characters  in  their  strength  and  in  their  weakness,  of 
Hardwicke,  and  Camden,  and  Mansfield,  and  Thurlow,  and 
Wedderburn,  and  Erskine,  and  Eldon,  and  Ellenborough  ; 
and  we  seem  to  know  all  about  them,  almost  as  well  as  if 
they  w^ere  our  contemporaries. —  Hardwicke,  who  held  the 
Great  Seal  longer  than  any  of  the  Lord  Chancellors  except 
three,  who  w^as  one  of  the  most  eloquent  orators  of  his  day, 
and  of  whom  it  was  said  that,  '  when  he  pronounced  his  de- 
crees. Wisdom  herself  might  be  supposed  to  speak.' — Camden, 
the  friend  and  colleague  of  Chatham — the  popular  judge, 
whose  portrait  was  placed  in  the  Guildhall,  with  a  Latin  in- 
scription by  Dr.  Johnson,  designating  him  as  the  zealous 
supporter  of  English  liberty  by  law. — Mansfield,  the  founder 
of  our  commercial  law,  who  tempered  with  the  good  sense  of 


i6o  £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

equity  many  of  the  harsh  and  crabbed  principles  of  the  com- 
mon law,  and  of  whom  Lord  Thurlow  used  to  say  that '  ninety- 
nine  times  out  of  a  hundred  he  was  right  in  his  opinions  and 
decisions,  and  when  once  in  a  hundred  times  he  was  wrong, 
ninety-nine  men  out  of  a  hundred  would  not  discover  it.  He 
was  a  wonderful  man.' — Thurlow,  with  his  Jupiter  Tonans 
look,  and  an  intellect  that  put  Johnson  on  his  mettle.  '  I  honour 
Thurlow,  Sir,'  said  he;  '  Thurlow  is  a  fine  fellow  ;  he  fairly 
puts  his  mind  to  yours.' — Wedderburn — the  ingenious  rea- 
soner  and  brilliant  speaker,^  who  attained  the  highest  prizes 
of  the  legal  and  political  career,  yet  died  a  mere  despised 
and  disappointed  courtier,  because  he  had  no  real  dignity  of 
character. — Erskine,  the  great  orator  of  the  English  Bar,  but 
a  very  poor  judge  and  politician. — Eldon,  the  most  profound 
in  his  knowledge  of  Equity,  and  the  most  involved  and  ob- 
scure in  his  utterance  of  it,  of  all  the  Chancellors  who  have 
occupied  the  Woolsack. — And  last  of  all,  EUenborough,  with 
his  rough  manners,  his  masculine  intellect,  and  his  bigoted 
opposition  to  law  reforms,  who,  when  a  Bill  was  brought  in 
for  abolishing  the  punishment  of  death  in  cases  of  stealing 
above  the  value  of  five  shillings,  said,  '  My  Lords,  if  we  suffer 
this  Bill  to  pass  v/e  shall  not  know  where  to  stand  ;  we  shall 
not  know  whether  we  are  upon  our  heads  or  our  feet.' 

Space  fails  us,  or  we  should  like  to  speak  of  Grant  and 
of  Stowell  (whom,  however,  as  a  civilian,  Mr.  Foss  does 
not  include  in  his  list),  and  of  Lyndhurst,  and  of  others 
who  have  more  recently  passed  away  from  amongst  us, 
or  have  left  the  Bench.  We  doubt  whether  Mr.  Foss 
has  done  wisely  in  introducing  the  present  occupants  of  the 
Bench.  He  says  that  he  resolved  to  limit  his  account  of 
them  to  little  more  than  the  formal  mention  of  the  facts 
already  publicly  given  in  the  peerages  and  other  periodical 
lists,  and  to  avoid  offering  any  opinion  on  their  respective 
judicial  merits,  which  it  would  be  presumptuous  in  him 
to   criticise.      But  such    skeletons  of  lives  arc  really  value- 

'   Ilis  fierce  attack  upon  Benjamin      immense    effect    in     exasperating    tlie 
Franklin  before  the  Pi  ivy  Council  had      Americans  against  Kagland. 
Sarcastic  Sawney,  full  of  spite  and  hate, 
On  modest  Franklin  poured  his  venal  prate  ; 
The  calm  philosopher,  without  reply, 
Withdrew — and  gave  his  country  liberty. 


THE  JUDGES   OE  ENGLAND.  i6i 

less,  and  -Mr.  Foss  might  without  any  loss  have  reduced  his 
nine  volumes  to  eight. 

There  is  no  body  of  men  in  this  country  whom  their 
fellow-citizens  are  disposed  to  treat  with  more  respect  and 
deference  than  the  Judges,  and  great  must  be  the  falling  off 
on  their  part  before  they  can  forfeit  the  homage  which  all  are 
willing  to  pay.  It  is  no  part  of  our  duty  to  instruct  any  Lord 
Chancellor  in  the  mode  of  his  appointments  ;  but  when  we 
remember  that  he  is  responsible  for  the  choice  of  men  to  fill 
up  vacancies  on  the  Bench,  we  may,  in  common  with  all  who 
feel  the  importance  of  the  reputation  of  those  high  magistrates 
of  the  commonwealth,  express  an  earnest  hope  that  he  will 
take  care  that  the  character  of  the  Bench  is  not  lowered. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  knowledge  of  law,  although 
indispensable,  is  not  the  sole  qualification  cf  a  judge.  Twice 
every  year  at  least  each  county  is  visited  by  two  of  the  com- 
mon law  Judges,  who,  representing  the  Crown  in  its  noblest 
office  of  dispenser  of  justice,  take  precedence  of  the  highest 
peers,  and  are  looked  up  to  with  reverence  and  awe  by  the 
populace.  In  them  are  expected  not  only  legal  learning  and 
acuteness,  but  also  the  manners  of  gentlemen,  and  something 
of  the  accomplishments  of  scholars.  Whether  those  expecta- 
tions are  not  sometimes  disappointed  it  is  not  for  us  to  sa}\ 
For  integrity  of  conduct  and  absolute  impartiality  on  the 
Bench  the  Judges  of  England  may  challenge  comparison  with 
the  world. 


M 


i62  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 


LITERARY  STYLE} 

'Eraser's  Magazine,'  March,  1S57. 

Although  we  have  placed  Archbishop  Whately's  work  on 
Rhetoric  at  the  head  of  this  article,  and  we  propose  to  say 
something  on  the  subject  of  literary  style,  which  occupies  a 
considerable  portion  of  his  book,  it  is  not  our  intention  to 
analyse  or  discuss  the  rules  of  composition,  so  much  as  to 
exhibit  some  peculiarities  of  it  amongst  the  writers  of  the 
present  day,  and  call  attention  to  some  faults  which,  if  allowed 
to  pass  unnoticed,  are  likely  to  produce  mischievous  effects 
on  the  future  literature  of  England.  And  as  the  best  kind  of 
instruction  is  that  which  teaches  by  examples,  we  think  v/e 
shall  be  doing  good  service  to  the  republic  of  letters  if  v/e 
devote  a  few  pages  to  the  task  of  pointing  out  specimens  of 
good,  and  exposing  what  we  believe  to  be  false  and  vicious, 
modes  of  style. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  this  is  cither  inopportune  or  un- 
necessary. We  live  in  an  age  of  book-making,  and  authors 
multiply  so  fast  that  it  is  almost  a  distinction  not  to  have 
published.  Men  and  women  rush  novv'-a-days  into  print  with 
an  alacrity  which  has  become  alarming.  Nobody  of  the 
slightest  note  dies  without  entailing  upon  the  public  a 
biography  of  half-a-dozen  volumes  ;  and  every  tourist  to 
Switzerland  or  the  Rhine  considers  himself  entitled  laisser 
trotter  sa  plmnc,  and  send  an  account  of  his  travels  to  the 
publishers.  Few,  however,  ask  themselves  whether  they  have 
anything  to  communicate  which,  as  regards  either  matter  or 
manner,  is  worth  imparting  to  the  world  ;  and  our  shelves 
groan  under  the  weight  of  books  which  will  soon  be  as  utterly 
forgotten  as  if  they  had  never  existed.     But  in  the  meantime, 

^  I.  Elevicnts  of  Rhetoric. VtyVs^xicXx'xxtS.  2.   English,   Past  and  Present,     l^y 

Wliately,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Duljlin.  Richard  Chcvenix  Trench,  B.D.  Lon- 
London  :   1851.  don  :   1855. 


LITERARY  STYLE.  163 

some  wretched  varieties  of  style  are  springing  up  which 
threaten  to  infect  our  whole  literature,  and  unless  the  growth 
is  vigorously  checked,  posterity  may  suffer  from  the  preva- 
lence of  a  corrupt  taste  in  composition,  and  permanent  injury 
may  be  done  to  the  noble  inheritance  of  language  we  have 
received  from  our  ancestors.  We  propose  therefore  to  deal 
\\\\\\  the  question  as  its  importance  deserves,  and  we  shall  en- 
deavour to  write  with  perfect  fairness,  although  it  may  be  in 
some  cases  with  severity. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  style  is  the  incarnation  of 
thought,  and  that  Ic  style  est  riioiiinic  ;  but  we  will  use  a  more 
homely  illustration.  Style  is  to  the  subject  matter  very  much 
what  cookery  is  to  food  ;  and  the  parallel  might  be  carried 
into  considerable  detail  without  ceasing  to  be  appropriate. 
Thus,  raw  meat  will  support  life,  and  the  culinary  art  is  not 
for  that  purpose  absolutely  necessary.  So  mental  nutriment 
may  be  extracted  from  heaps  of  undigested  facts,  however 
repulsive  the  manner  in  which  they  are  flung  together.  Again, 
good  cookery  will  render  palatable  the  most  uninviting  food. 
Excellent  soup  is  made  from  bones  ;  and  we  believe  that  M. 
Soyer  can,  at  the  cost  of  a  farthing,  produce  a  capital  dish 
out  of  almost  nothing.  And  an  attractive  style  will  throw  a 
charm  over  the  most  unpromising  subject,  and  rivet  the  atten- 
tion of  the  reader  when,  without  that  attraction,  he  would 
turn  away  in  weariness  or  disgust.  But  there  are  bad  as  well 
as  good  cooks  ;  not  only  cooks  that  give  a  piquant  relish  to 
ordinary  food,  but,  as  we  all  know  to  our  cost,  cooks  who  can 
and  do  spoil  the  choicest  viands.  Need  we  say  that  the  best 
story  may  be  spoiled  in  the  telling,  and  that  there  are  writers 
who  possess  a  fatal  facility  for  rendering  whatever  subject 
they  discuss  both  tiresome  and  repulsive  .-• 

Or,  to  vary  the  metaphor,  we  may  compare  literary  to 
architectural  style,  and  as  the  same  stones  in  the  hands  of  the 
builder  will  form  the  most  beautiful  or  the  most  unsightly 
edifice — the  Parthenon  of  the  Acropolis  or  the  National  Gal- 
lery of  Trafalgar  Square — so  from  the  same  subject-matter 
the  pen  may  produce  the  dullest  or  the  most  interesting  book. 

So  great  is  the  success  and  so  brilliant  the  reward  of  an 
attractive  style,  that  it  is  to  us  a  matter  of  astonishment  that 
more  earnest  endeavours  to  acquire  it  are  not  made  by  those 


1 64  ESSAYS   CRIIICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

who  aspire  to  the  dignity  of  authorship.  A  good  st}-le  will 
secure  to  a  work  a  favourable  reception  with  the  public,  much 
more  than  in  proportion  to  what  its  merits  in  other  respects 
deserve.  There  are  some  books — few  indeed  in  number,  we 
admit — which  have  been  kept  afloat  on  the  stream  of  time, 
almost  solely  by  the  buoyancy  of  their  style.  And  by  this 
we  do  not  mean  merely  the  grammatical  and  proper  arrange- 
ment of  words  in  each  sentence,  but  the  due  relation  of  sen- 
tences to  each  other,  A  rhythmical  structure  ought  to  exist, 
not  only  in  the  separate  but  in  the  collective  periods  ;  and 
the  warp  and  woof  of  the  entire  texture  should  be  so  woven 
as  to  preserve  continuity  of  pattern,  and  produce  the  effect  of 
an  harmonious  whole.  It  is  the  charm  of  his  easy,  natural, 
unaffected  manner,  which  still  maintains  Hume  at  the  head  of 
English  historians,  nor  do  we  think  he  is  likely  to  be  displaced. 
We  may  accuse  him  of  unfairness  and  partiality,  and  convict 
him  of  inaccuracy,  but  the  verdict  will  be,  as  the  French  say,, 
guilty  under  extenuating  circumstances,  and  the  extenuating 
circumstance  in  the  case  of  Hume  is  his  style.  The  shallow 
morality  of  Paley  may  be,  and  we  hope  is,  exploded  as  the 
philosophy  which  is  to  train  up  the  youth  of  England  in  the 
ways  of  virtue  and  truth  ;  but  his  works  are  models  of  com- 
position, and  will  be  read  with  delight  by  those  who  disap- 
prove his  doctrines  but  are  fascinated  by  the  clear  transparency 
of  his  style.  In  his  '  Aids  to  Reflection,'  Coleridge  expresses 
in  enthusiastic  terms  his  admiration  of  the  manner,  while 
dissenting  from  the  matter,  of  Paley.  '  How  gladly,'  he  says, 
'  would  I  surrender  all  hope  of  contemporary  praise,  could  I 
even  approach  to  the  incomparable  grace,  propriety,  and  per- 
suasive facility  of  his  writings.'  Cobbctt,  again,  is  an  author 
whose  style  will  always  secure  for  him  a  distinguished  place 
amongst  English  writers.  Those  who  dissent  most  from  his 
political  views,  and  care  nothing  for  the  opinions  of  the  arch- 
radical,  may  read  with  delight,  and  derive  instruction  from, 
the  works  of  one  who  was  perhaps  the  most  vigorous  writer 
of  Saxon  English  that  can  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  our 
literature.  He  knew  how  to  put  forth  the  utmost  strength  of 
his  native  tongue,  and  whatever  he  wrote  is  distinguished  by 
a  racy,  sinewy,  and  idiomatic  style.  Ikit  it  has  one  conspi- 
cuous blemish.     It  is  defaced  by  an  immoderate  use  of  italics. 


LITERARY  STYLE.  165 

This  is  a  great  and  frequent  fault.  They  arc  intended  to 
supply  the  place  of  emphasis  in  speaking,  but  the  whole  force 
is  lost  when  they  arc  employed  too  constantly  and  without 
necessity. 

Men  doubt  because  they  stand  so  thick  i'  the  sky, 
If  they  be  stars  that  paint  the  galaxy. 

In  Cobbett's  pages  they  are  as  thickly  strewn  as  leaves  in 
Vallombrosa,  and  appear  like  ugly  finger-posts  telling  the 
reader  what  path  he  must  pursue  and  to  what  objects  he  must 
pay  attention.  A  writer  ought  to  trust  to  the  collocation  of 
his  words  to  mark  the  emphatic  parts  of  his  statement,  and 
not  perpetually  put  up  notices  to  point  out  his  meaning :  and 
it  is  curious  that  Archbishop  Whatcly  should  so  often  fall 
into  the  same  mistake  ;  for  no  author  with  whom  we  are 
acquainted  less  requires  such  factitious  aid.  His  style  is  pel- 
lucid to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  none  but  those  who  are 
wilfully  blind  or  hopelessly  stupid  can  misunderstand  what  he 
says.  He  has  a  wonderful  power  of  apt  and  happy  illustra- 
tion, drawn  chiefly  from  images  of  external  nature.  And  this 
gives  a  liveliness  and  force  to  his  style  which  make  every  sub- 
ject which  he  discusses  not  only  interesting  but  clear  to  the 
dullest  comprehension. 

We  may  instance  also  the  Letters  of  Cowper,  and  the 
works  of  Southey  and  Washington  Irving,  as  examples  of 
what  may  be  effected  by  charm  of  manner.  And  as  we  have 
mentioned  the  best  of  American  writers,  we  are  tempted  to 
quote  a  single  passage  as  a  specimen  of  his  style.  It  is,  wc 
think,  exquisitely  beautiful,  and  we  know  not  where  we  can 
find  a  more  affecting  image  of  that  most  sorrowful  of  all 
sorrowful  things,  a  Broken  Heart : — 

She  is  like  some  tender  tree,  the  pride  and  beauty  of  the  grove,  graceful  in  its 
form,  bright  in  its  foliage,  but  with  the  worm  preying  at  its  heart.  We  find  it 
suddenly  withering  when  it  should  be  most  fresh  and  luxuriant.  We  see  it  droop- 
ing its  branches  to  the  earth,  and  shedding  leaf  by  leaf  until,  wasted  and  perished 
away,  it  falls,  even  in  the  stillness  of  the  forest  ;  and  as  we  muse  over  the  beauti- 
ful ruin,  we  strive  in  vain  to  recollect  the  blast  or  the  thunderbolt  that  could  have 
smitten  it  with  decay. 

Style,  in  fact,  is  an  alchemy  which  can  transmute  the 
basest  metal  into  gold.  It  is  to  the  writer  what  manner  is  to 
the  individual-  that  by  which  we  are  at  once  either  attracted 


1 66  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE, 

or  repelled ;    and  the  most  interesting   subject   may.  be    so 
handled  as  to  inspire  the  reader  with  nothing  but  disgust. 

We  may  illustrate  this  by  an  example  on  a  large  scale. 
No  one  who  is  at  all  competent  to  form  a  judgment  on  the 
question,  can  doubt  that  in  point  of  calibre — and  as  destined 
to  influence  the  speculations  and  opinions  of  men  on  the  most 
important  subjects  that  can  occupy  the  human  mind — the 
prose  literature  of  Germany  is  superior  to  that  of  France. 
But  its  momentum  is  impeded,  and  the  number  of  its  readers 
sensibly  narrowed,  by  the  astounding  heaviness  and  desperate 
clumsiness  of  its  style.  And,  we  may  remark  in  passing, 
there  seems  in  this  to  be  almost  a  providential  safeguard,  if  we 
consider  the  nature  and  tendency  of  much  that  is  published 
in  that  vast  hive  of  busy  thinkers  and  laborious  writers.  Mr. 
De  Ouincey,  in  one  of  his  delightful  Essays,  v/hich  have  within 
the  last  few  years  been  collected  and  published  in  America, 
and  are  now  at  last  in  the  course  of  publication  in  England,' 
thus  speaks  of  German  composition  : — 

V/hatever  is  bad  in  our  own  ideal  of  prose  style,  whatever  is  repulsive  in  our 
own  practice,  we  see  there  carried  to  the  most  outrageous  excess.  Herod  is  out- 
Ilerodcd,  Sternhold  is  out-Sternholded,  with  a  zealotry  of  extravagance  that  really 
seems  like  wilful  burlesque. 

Its  chief  characteristics  are  involution  and  prolixity.  The 
sentences  are  of  suffocating  length,  and  they  are  coiled  to- 
gether, parenthesis  within  parenthesis,  like  the  folds  of  a 
monstrous  snake,  so  as  to  bewilder  and  confound  the  deader. 
Instead  of  breaking  up  his  matter  into  small  and  manageable 
pieces,  in  the  shape  of  short  and  readable  paragraphs,  a 
German  writer  thinks  it  enough  to  quarry  it  out  in  an  un- 
wieldy mass,  and  gives  himself  no  trouble  about  its  form, 
structure,  or  polish.  Indeed,  we  doubt  if  he  ever  bestows  a 
thought  upon  the  manner  of  saying  anything  that  comes  up- 
permost in  his  mind.  But  what  man  of  woman  born,  not  a 
German,  can  digest  a  book  made  up  of  passages,  each  varying 
in  length  from  twelve  to  twenty  or  thirty  lines  (wc  have 
counted  so  many) — unrelieved  by  a  single  break,  even  so 
much  as  a  semicolon — so  that  long  before  the  end  of  the  para- 
graph is  reached,  the  memory  has  forgotten  the  introductory 
part,  which  can  alone  render  the  meaning  intelligible  .''     Of 

'  Tliis  was  written  in  1857. 


LITERAR Y  STYLE.  167 

Kant  it  is  said,  that  his  sentences  have  been  measured  b)'  a 
carpenter,  and  some  of  them  run  two  feet  eight  by  six  inches. 
A  chief  cause  of  this  frightful  cumbrousness  is  the  attempt  to 
embrace,  in  one  grasp  as  it  were,  and  present  to  the  reader  at 
one  view  all  the  qualifications,  limitations,  and  exceptions  of 
a  subject,  before  he  has  time  to  form  an  idea  of  it,  which, 
without  those  qualifications,  limitations,  and  exceptions,  would, 
in  the  writer's  judgment,  be  erroneous.  Hence  follows  that 
discompounding  of  words — that  tearing  asunder  of  preposi- 
tions from  their  verbs,  and  that  aggregation  of  subsidiary 
sentences,  which  make  a  Chinese  puzzle  of  a  large  part  of  the 
prose  literature  of  German}'. 

It  is  this  careless  disregard,  or  rather  positive  contempt, 
of  composition,  which  renders  it  so  repulsive  to  foreigners,  and 
deters  even  those  who  are  accurately  acquainted  with  the  lan- 
guage from  reading  works  which  would  otherwise  invite,  and 
in  many  instances  well  repay,  perusal, 

In  direct  opposition  and  contrast  to  the  heavy  lumber- 
wagon  of  German,  is  the  light,  quick  post-chariot  of  French 
style.  This  corresponds  also  with,  and  is  partly  the  effect  of, 
certain  well-known  traits  of  the  national  character.  No  people 
have  carried  the  art  of  conversation  to  such  perfection  as  the 
French,  and  with  none  is  it  felt  to  be  so  much  a  social  neces- 
sity. Conversation,  as  distinct  from  monologue,  is  more 
practised  and  better  understood  in  France  than  in  any  other 
country  in  Europe.  But  this,  of  itself,  requires  and  produces 
brevity  of  expression.  It  rests  on  the  give-and-take  principle, 
and  is  absolutely  opposed  to  long-winded  monopoly  of  talk. 
And  that  happy  faculty  of  dexterous  arrangement  v/hich  dis- 
tinguishes the  nation,  and  which  is  so  remarkably  exhibited 
by  French  soldiers  in  a  campaign,  appears  also  in  the  neat- 
ness and  accuracy  of  French  style.^  We  will  not  go  so  far  as 
Mr.  De  Ouincey,  who  asserts  that  '  such  a  thing  as  a  long  or 
an  involved  sentence  could  not  be  produced  from  French 
literature,  though  a  Sultan  were  to  offer  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage to  the  man  who  should  find  it;'  but  certainly  the  oc- 

'  We  remember  visiting  the  citadel  at   the    extremity    of    a    covered    sap 

of  Antwerp  shortly  after  its  siege  and  through  which  the  storming  party  was 

capture  by  the  French  in  1832,  and  we  to    have  rushed,    if  tlie  place   liad  not 

were  struck  by  the  tasteful  way  in  which  surrendered  immediately  before  the  in- 

a  little  wicker  gate  had  been  arranged  tended  assault. 


1 68  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

currence  is  so  rare  as  almost  to  justify  the  reward  proposed 
for  the  discovery. 

In  EngHsh  Literature,  on  the  contrary,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  finding  such  sentences  in  abundance.  Careless- 
ness about  style  has  been  a  national  failing  of  a  very  old  date ; . 
and  it  has  its  origin  in  one  of  the  most  marked  features  of 
our  character.  We  pride  ourselves  upon  being  a  practical 
people  ;  and,  provided  that  a  given  end  of  utility  is  attained, 
we  are  too  apt  to  disregard  the  means  by  which  it  is  accom- 
plished. This  is  strikingly  shown  in  the  architecture  which 
prevailed  in  England  until  the  last  few  years,  when  happily 
we  may  date  the  commencement  of  a  better  taste.  The  main 
object  of  houses  is  to  provide  shelter  and  comfort,  and  of 
churches  to  furnish  accommodation.  And  what  could  be  more 
miserable  than  the  style  of  the  houses  and  churches  which 
were  built  during  the  last  two  hundred  years  .''  To  say  that 
they  were  ugly,  but  faintly  expresses  the  utter  ignorance  or 
contempt  of  all  the  laws  of  architecture  which  they  ostenta- 
tiously displayed.  Beauty  and  grace,  and  harmony  and  pro- 
portion, were  things  almost  unknown  to  our  builders ;  and  the 
consequence  has  been  such  an  array  of  unsightly  structures 
as  gives  positive  pain  to  the  eye  that  has  been  instructed  in  a 
better  school. 

To  revert  to  our  Literature.  It  would  be  difficult  to  name 
an  English  writer  of  the  seventeenth  century  who  in  point  of 
correctness  will  bear  comparison  with  the  prosateurs  Francais 
of  the  same  period.  We  are  not  now  speaking  of  eloquence, 
for  in  this  we  can  boast  of  a  proud  pre-eminence.  Neither 
Bossuet  nor  Massillon  nor  Bordaloue  can  be  put  in  compe- 
tition with  our  own  Jeremy  Taylor.  And  many  passages  of 
Milton's  '  Areopagitica,'  or  his  '  Reformation  in  England,' 
and  some  also  of  the  '  Hydriotaphia,'  or  '  Urn  Burial '  of  Sir 
Thomas  Browne,  are  loftier  in  thought  and  grander  in  expres- 
sion than  anything  that  can  be  found  in  the  whole  literature 
of  France.  But  as  regards  harmony  of  construction,  attention 
to  grammar  and  grace,  and  polish  and  accuracy,  and  all  that 
betokens  finish  in  composition,  the  French  writers  of  that  age 
are  far  superior  to  the  English.  There  is  hardly  a  sentence 
in  Bossuet  or  Pascal  which  is  not  perfectly  good  French  even 
at  the  present  day.     A  word  or  two  may  have  become  obso- 


LITERARY  STYLE.  169 

lete  or  changed  in  meaning ;  but  there  are  no  solecisms  in 
grammar,  and  there  is  no  slovenliness  of  construction.  The 
case,  however,  is  very  different  with  our  own  authors  ;  and  we 
are  perhaps  hardly  aware  how  often  they  offend  in  both  these 
respects,  until  our  attention  is  specially  directed  to  the  sub- 
ject. In  truth,  the  great  English  writers  of  the  seventeenth 
century  seem  to  have  despised  composition  as  an  art,  and 
they  sometimes  remind  us  of  the  story  of  the  proud  old  Ger- 
man emperor  who,  when  corrected  at  the  council-board  for  a 
laps?(s  lingmd  which  he  had  just  committed  in  defiance  of 
Priscian,  struck  his  hand  fiercely  on  the  table  and  exclaimed, 
'Ego  sum  rex  Romanns  ct  super  graminaticam  !'  Giants 
indeed  they  were  in  intellectual  strength,  but  they  poured  out 
the  fulness  of  their  thoughts  without  troubling  themselves  as 
to  the  form  in  which  they  were  expressed.  And  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  English  language  was  in  an  unfixed 
and  transitionary  state  for  a  long  period  after  the  revival  of 
letters  had  taken  place  under  the  united  influence  of  the 
printing-press  and  the  Reformation.  It  was  uncertain  whether 
the  Latin  or  the  Saxon  element,  which  were  struggling  for 
the  mastery,  would  predominate  ;  and  every  waiter  thought 
himself  at  liberty  to  coin  '  long-tailed  words  in  'osity  and 
'ology,'  without  reference  to  the  genius  of  the  language,  or 
their  fitness  to  be  adopted  as  members  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
family.  In  his  epistle  dedicatory  to  his  '  Rival  Ladies,' .  ad- 
dressed to  Lord  Orrery,  Dryden  says,  '  I  have  endeavoured  to 
write  English  as  near  as  I  could  distinguish  it  from  the  tongue 
of  pedants  and  that  of  affected  travellers  ;  only  I  am  sorry 
that,  speaking  so  noble  a  language  as  we  do,  we  have  not  a 
more  certain  measure  of  it  as  they  have  in  France,  where  they 
have  an  Academy  erected  for  that  purpose,  and  endowed  with 
large  privileges  by  the  present  King.'  Nothing  shows  more 
plainly  the  little  attention  that  was  paid  to  style,  than  the 
w^ay  in  which  the  finest  passages  are  often  marred  by  the  in- 
troduction of  common  colloquial  and  even  vulgar  expressions. 
And  here  we  would  carefully  distinguish  between  terms  which 
have  become  degraded  by  lapse  of  time,  and  those  which  never 
had  an  elevated  use.  We  stumble  upon  them,  in  reading  the 
old  English  classics,  as  unexpectedly,  and  regard  them  as  much 
out  of  place,  as   boulders  which  have  been   torn  from  their 


I70  JSSSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

native  and  naked  rocks,  and  transported  by  an  unknown 
agency  into  the  midst  of  fields  smiling  with  flowers  and  teeming 
with  luxuriant  vegetation.  Thus  Barrow  talks  of  a  'pat  allu- 
sion to  a  known  story;'  and  we  not  unfrequently  find  in  his 
noble  sermons,  so  full  of  heart-stirring  eloquence,  such  pas- 
sages as  the  following  : — '  It  may  also  be  expedient  to  put  the 
world  out  of  conceit  that  all  sober  and  good  men  are  a  sort  of 
such  lumpish  or  sour  people  that  they  utter  nothing  but  flat 
and  drowsy  stuff.' 

Nor  indeed  was  it  until  a  comparatively  late  period  that 
some  of  the  commonest  and  most  elementary  rules  of  grammar, 
as  now  observed,  found  general  acceptance  with  even  the  best 
authors.  For  instance,  far  down  into  the  last  century,  the 
auxiliary  verb  was  joined  to  the  preterite,  instead  of  the  past 
participle  ;  and  in  fact  the  distinction  between  the  two  was 
almost  disregarded. 

It  is,  however,  folly  to  imagine  that  cxellence  in  literary 
composition  can  be  attained  without  care  and  labour.  Cobbett 
indeed  has  laid  down  the  rule — '  Never  think  of  mending  what 
you  write  :  let  it  go  :  no  patching.  As  your  pen  moves,  bear 
constantly  in  mind  that  it  is  making  strokes  which  are  to 
remain  for  ever.'  But  independently  of  the  fact  that  the 
latter  part  of  this  advice  seems  to  nullify  the  former — for 
surely  nothing  that  is  destined  for  immortality  can  be  pro- 
duced by  man  without  the  iiuprohiis  labor  which  is  one  of  the 
conditions  of  human  excellence — what  Cobbett  here  says 
must  be  taken  with  an  important  qualification.  It  is  quite 
true  that  when  a  good  style  is  once  formed,  it  may  be  best  to 
write  without  thinking  much  about  it,  lest  the  rule  ^dXarscst 
cclare  artcin  should  be  violated  ;  but  until  that  is  the  case,  too 
much  attention  can  hardly  be  paid  to  the  choice  of  words  and 
collocation  of  sentences.  An  expert  swimmer  enjoys  the 
exercise  without  bestowing  a  thought  upon  the  mechanical 
action  of  his  limbs  ;  but  he  who  plunges  into  deep  water 
without  having  first  learned  how  to  swim,  makes  a  few  awkward 
struggles,  and  then  finds  his  way  to  the  mud  at  the  bottom. 
Nor  do  we  think  that  in  any  case  it  is  safe  to  dismiss  altogether 
care  about  the  manner  of  composition.  And  the  example  of 
great  writers  proves  the  truth  of  what  wc  assert.  It  is  said 
that  the  beginning  of  Plato's  '  Republic'  was  found  written  in 


LITERARY  STYLE.  171 

his  tablets  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  ;  and  yet  Plato  is  an 
author  who  has  never  been  surpassed  in  the  beauty  and 
transparency  of  his  style.  Nicole  tells  us  that  Pascal  fre- 
quently spent  twenty  days  in  the  composition  of  a  single 
Provincial  Letter,  and  sometimes  commenced  the  same  letter 
seven  or  eight  times  before  he  satisfied  himself  with  the  re- 
sult. And  Voltaire  used  to  keep  before  him  on  his  table, 
when  engaged  in  the  task  of  writing,  the  '  Petit  Caremc '  of 
Massillon  and  the  tragedies  of  Racine. 

We  wish,  therefore,  that  more  pains  were  taken  than  has 
been  the  custom  in  our  schools  and  colleges  to  teach  habits  of 
correct  and  graceful  English  composition.  It  is  indeed  won- 
derful how  much  this  has  been  neglected,  and  to  what  a 
disproportionate  extent  the  time  and  attention  of  the  young 
have  been  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of  a  minute  and  critical 
knowledge  of  two  dead  languages,  without  help  or  instruction 
in  the  study  of  their  own.  Not  that  we  mean  for  a  moment  to 
undervalue  the  advantages  of  accuracy  in  classical  scholarship, 
which  is  nothing  unless  it  is  accurate  ;  but  we  may  say  to 
those  charged  with  the  responsible  office  of  education,  '  This 
ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  have  left  the  other  undone.' 
And  indeed  the  two  are  not  only  not  opposed,  but  the  one  is 
perhaps  the  best  mode  of  acquiring  the  other.  Translations 
from  the  classic  authors  are  of  admirable  use  in  forming  habits 
of  correct  composition,  if  what  ought  to  be  considered  good 
translation  is  properly  understood.  By  this  term  we  do  not 
mean  a  bald,  stiff  rendering  of  the  original — literally  'upsetting 
it'  {itbcrsctzung)  as  the  Germans  call  it  — but  choosing  ahva}-3 
the  most  appropriate  and  equivalent  word,  giving  idiom  for 
idiom,  and  clothing  the  sentences  in  an  English,  and  not  in  a 
Greek  or  Latin  dress.  Another  useful  method  is  to  require 
students  to  write  letters  or  narratives  on  easy  familiar  sub- 
jects— not  themes  or  formal  essays  on  Virtue  or  Happiness, 
or  the  SuminuDi  Boinnn,  which  invariably  produce  a  weak, 
stilted,  and  inflated  style.  They  should  always  bear  in  mind 
the  well-known  answer  said  to  have  been  given  by  an  eminent 
prelate  to  a  young  clergyman  who  asked  him  for  advice  as  to 
the  composition  of  a  sermon — '  Read  over  what  you  have 
written,  and  whenever  you  come  to  any  passage  which  you 
think  particularly  fine — strike  it  out.' 


172  £SSAyS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

Nor  need  there  be  any  apprehension  lest  attention  to  rules 
and  imitation  of  good  models  in  learning  the  art  of  compo- 
sition, should  produce  a  monotonous  uniformity  of  style. 
Characteristic  differences  will  insensibly  arise,  having  their 
origin  in  the  separate  constitution  of  each  writer's  mind,  the 
individuality  of  which  will  be  preserved  in  the  expression  of 
his  thoughts,  just  as  differences  in  handwriting  exist  amongst 
those  who  have  been  taught  by  the  same  master. 

Indeed,  every  author  who  has  any  originality  of  thought, 
and  whose  works  are  worth  reading  or  remembering,  has  a 
mode  of  expression  peculiar  to  himself  He  paints,  so  to  speak, 
after  his  own  manner.  The  style  of  Isaiah  is  not  the  style  of 
Ezekiel  or  Jeremiah  ;  and  St.  Paul  differs  in  the  character 
of  his  writings  from  the  other  apostles,  as  much  as — to  use  his 
own  beautiful  simile — one  star  dififereth  from  another  star  in 
glory.  His  abrupt  transitions,  his  long  parentheses,  his 
vehement  adjurations,  have  no  counterpart  in  the  Epistles  of 
St.  Peter  or  St.  John.  Those  two  magnificent  chapters,  the 
fifteenth  of  the  ist  Corinthians,  and  the  eleventh  of  Hebrews, 
the  one  on  the  Resurrection  and  the  other  on  Faith,  could  only 
have  been  written  by  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

It  has  been  so  in  all  ages  of  the  world.  If  we  turn  to  the 
two  earliest  historians  of  Greece  whose  works  have  come  down 
to  us,  Herodotus  and  Thucydides,  separated  in  point  of  time 
by  less  than  a  single  generation,  we  see  a  difference  in  style 
which  can  only  be  explained  by  a  difference  in  the  mental 
idiosyncrasy  of  the  writers.  The  gossipping,  conversational 
narrative  of  the  one,  is  the  exact  reflex  of  a  mind  which 
looked  with  almost  childish  wonder  upon  whatever  was  strgnge 
in  nature  or  in  art,  and  devoured  with  credulous  avidity  the 
talcs  which  were  sometimes  palmed  off  upon  the  Halicarnassian 
traveller.  In  Thucydides  we  see  thoughts  struggling  to  ex- 
press themselves  in  a  language  whose  wondrous  strength  and 
flexibility  were  not  yet  known,  and  which  was  not  sufficiently 
dev^eloped  to  respond  fully  to  the  call  of  the  deep-thinking  and 
serious  historian.  But  independently  of  this,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  Thucydides  violates  the  rules  of  grammar  in  a 
way  which  admits  of  no  excuse,  and  which  can  only  be  explained 
on  the  supposition  that  he  was  too  intently  occupied  with  the 
importance  of  his  subject— that  great  war  in  which   he  had 


LITERARY  STYLE.  173 

himself  been  an  actor  and  a  sufferer — to  bestow  much  care 
upon  the  manner  of  his  narrative.  Plato,  again,  and  Aristotle, 
stood  to  each  other  in  the  relation  of  master  and  pupil,  and 
yet  what  an  immense  difference  there  is  between  them  in 
style  !  The  luxuriant  fulness  of  the  one  is  as  much  contrasted 
with  the  elliptic  brevity  of  the  other,  as  the  two  kinds  of 
philosophy  which,  under  the  names  of  Platonic  and  Aris- 
totelian, formed  separate  schools,  and  divided  the  allegiance 
of  the  ancient  world. 

In  the  Latin  writers  we  have  dissimilarities  quite  as  striking. 
The  style  of  Livy  is  as  unlike  the  style  of  Tacitus  as  a  picture 
of  Watteau  is  unlike  a  picture  of  Rembrandt  or  Salvator  Rosa. 
And  different  from  and  transcending  both  is  that  of  the  great 
master  of  the  Latin  language,  Cicero.  But  in  this  respect  the 
Roman  orator  stands  amongst  his  countrymen  peerless  and 
alone.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  exquisite  music  of  his  periods, 
and  the  collocation  of  his  words  is  so  perfect,  that  not  one  of 
them  can  be  changed  without  impairing  the  beauty  of  the  sen- 
tence. If  Coleridge's  test  of  a  good  style  is  correct — namely,  'its 
untranslateableness  in  words  of  the  same  language  without  in- 
jury to  the  meaning,'— the  condition  is  exactly  fulfilled  by  Cicero. 
To  say  nothing  of  his  eloquence,  his  language  is  always  that 
of  the  urbamcs  vir — the  polished  Roman  gentleman  ;  and  the 
only  objection  that  we  can  make  to  it  is,  that  a  habit  of  perusing 
his  works  almost  unfits  us  for  the  appreciation  of  any  other 
Latin  prose  author. 

We  might  illustrate  what  we  have  said  about  the  indi- 
viduality of  a  writer's  manner  by  going  through  the  list  of  our 
great  English  authors,  and  pointing  out  the  characteristics  of 
the  Divines  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  of  Fuller,  Bacon, 
Milton,  Clarendon,  Dryden  (who  wrote  excellent  prose), 
Sir  Thomas  Browne,  Burnett,  Bolingbroke,  Swift,  Addison, 
De  Foe,  Johnson,  Goldsmith,  and  many  others,  but  for  this  we 
have  not  space.  We  will  proceed  at  once  to  Gibbon,  whose 
style  is  in  many  respects  remarkable,  and  corresponds  closely 
with  the  character  of  his  mind. 

Gibbon  was  a  timid  infidel,  one  who  had  not  the  courage 
openly  to  attack  Christianity,  but  did  all  in  his  power  to 
undermine  it  by  dark  insinuations  feebly  masked  under  the 
show  of  candour  and   impartiality.      He  is  the  great  master 


174  ASSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

of  the  art  of  sneering.  This  is  in  fact  the  key-note  of  his 
style.  His  pecuhar  manner  enables  him  to  be  unfair  and 
disingenuous  in  the  highest  degree,  if  not  without  detection,  at 
least  without  direct  conviction.  He  never  openly  advances  an 
opinion  which  he  might  find  it  difficult  or  inconvenient  to 
defend.  Instead  of  asserting,  he  insinuates,  and  instead  of 
distinctly  saying  what  he  thinks,  he  takes  refuge  in  some  am- 
biguous proposition  which,  however,  does  not  fail  to  imply  his 
real  sentiments.  As  Archbishop  Whately  has  well  described 
it,  'His  way  of  writing  reminds  one  of  those  persons  who  never 
dare  look  you  full  in  the  face.'  Instead  of  taking  the  reader 
straight  up  to  an  object,  he  leads  him  to  it  by  a  circuitous  and 
not  very  discernible  path.  The  artfulness  of  his  attack  on  the 
Christian  religion  consists  in  his  apparent  candour.  Through 
the  pages  of  his  two  famous  chapters  on  that  subject  an  insi- 
dious poison  is  distilled,  and  yet  so  skilfully  is  it  mixed,  that  it 
would  be  difficult  to  select  a  single  passage  which  the  historian 
could  not  defend  as  consistent  with  the  faith  of  the  most 
orthodox  believer.  But  the  impression  left,  and  intended  to 
be  left,  on  the  mind  of  the  reader  is  unmistakable,  and  it  is 
adverse  to  the  idea  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianit}^ 

What  can  be  more  unfair — we  had  almost  said  malignant — • 
than  the  words  in  parenthesis  in  the  following  passage  from  a 
note  at  the  foot  of  one  of  his  pages  .''    The  italics  are  our  own : — 

Apollonius  of  Tyana  was  born  about  the  same  time  as  Jesus  Christ.  His  life 
{that  of  the  former)  is  rebated  in  so  fabulous  a  manner  by  his  disciples,  that  we  are 
at  a  loss  to  discover  whether  he  was  a  sage,  an  impostor,  or  a  fanatic. 

So  far  we  have  been  speaking  of  what  may  be  called  the 
dishonest  artifices  of  Gibbon's  style,  but  its  general  character 
is  that  of  lofty  magnifiicencc.  The  march  of  his  narrativ^e  is  as 
measured  and  stately  as  that  of  one  of  the  heroes  in  a  tragedy 
of  Corneille.  He  was  constantly  impressed  with  the  idea  of 
sustaining  the  dignity  of  history.  He  hardly  ever  unbends 
to  an  anecdote,  or  condescends  to  an  incident  which  is  not  in 
perfect  keeping  with  the  grandeur  of  his  subject — The  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  We  do  not,  however,  mean 
to  say  that  Gibbon  noivJiere  relaxes  from  this  lofty  reserve.  He 
relegates  to  his  notes  many  a  story,  *  veiled '  generally,  as  he 
expresses  it,  '  in  the  obscurity  of  a  learned  language,'  but  not 
the  less  intended  to  attract  attention  and  stimulate  a  prurient 


LITERARY  STYLE.  175 

curiosity.  Wc  miss,  however,  in  the  text,  traits  of  character 
and  points  of  detail.  We  feel  a  want  of  sympathy  with  the 
actors  in  the  drama,  who  are  so  stiff  and  magnificent  that  we 
can  hardly  think  of  them  as  men  and  women  of  the  same  flesh 
and  blood  and  like  passions  as  ourselves. 

Gibbon  would  never  have  ventured  to  introduce  into  his 
History  such  a  passage  as  the  following,  in  which  Mr.  Macaulay 
relates  the  joy  of  the  populace  at  the  downfall  and  approaching 
end  of  the  infamous  Jeffreys  : — 

The  .street  poets  portioned  out  all  his  joints  witii  cannil^al  ferocity,  and  com- 
puted how  many  pounds  of  steak  might  be  cut  from  his  well-fattened  carcass. 
Nay,  the  rage  of  his  enemies  was  such  that,  in  language  seldom  heard  in  luigland, 
they  proclaimed  their  wish  that  he  might  go  to  the  place  of  wailing  and  gnashing 
of  teeth,  to  the  worm  that  never  dies,  to  the  fire  that  is  never  quenched.  They 
exhorted  him  to  hang  himself  in  his  garters,  and  to  cut  his  throat  with  his  razor. 

But  we  know  no  writer  whose  mode  of  expressing  himselt 
is  more  characteristic  of  the  individual  than  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, who,  since  the  publication  of  his  Despatches,  may 
fairly  be  ranked  amongst  authors.  They  are  a  model  of 
soldierly  simplicity.  The  Duke  goes  straight  to  his  point, 
with  the  precision  and  sometimes  the  force  of  a  cannon-ball. 
He  not  only  always  means  what  he  says,  but  says  what  he 
means  with  a  plainness  and  brevity  which  show  that  in  more 
senses  than  one  he  deserves  his  title  of  the  English  Caisar. 
We  confess  that  when  we  first  read  the  Despatches,  we  were 
not  prepared  to  find  them  so  correct  in  grammar  and  expres- 
sion, and  with  so  few  faults  which  even  a  fastidious  criticism 
can  correct. 

To  show,  however,  how  great  are  the  varieties  of  style  even 
in  those  who  might  be  expected,  from  near  relationship,  and  as 
the  result  of  a  common  education,  to  exhibit  less  of  difference 
than  similarity,  we  can  hardly  cite  a  stronger  example  than 
that  of  the  two  brothers.  Lord  Stowell  and  Lord  Eldon,  than 
whom  no  two  men  were  ever  more  contrasted  in  their  modes  of 
expression.  We  have  no  right  to  place  either  of  them  in  the 
exact  category  of  authors,  but  the  judgments  of  each  fill  many 
volumes,  and  many  of  them  were  carefully  written  before  they, 
were  delivered.  Nothing  can  be  more  unlike  than  the  style  of 
the  one  is  to  the  style  of  the  other.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
imagine  sentences  more  obscure,  clumsy,  and  involved  than 
those  of  Lord  Eldon  ;    more    clear   and  fastidiously  correct 


176  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

than  those  of  Lord  Stowell.  If  any  one  doubts  the  fact  as  to 
the  great  Lord  Chancellor,  let  him  turn  to  the  volumes  of 
■Vesey,  where  he  will  find  marvellous  examples  of  confused 
intricacy  of  expression,  which  repels  from  perusal  all  but  those 
whom  professional  duty  compels  to  study  them. 

Lord  Stowell,  on  the  contrary,  is  distinguished  by  the 
curiosa  felicitas  of  his  expression.  \\\  the  arrangement  of  his 
periods  and  choice  of  his  diction  he  was  scrupulously  exact, 
and  this  sometimes  gives  an  air  of  quaintness  to  his  style,  as 
for  instance  in  the  following  passages  :— 

They  (the  seamen)  are  threatened  by  the  captain,  who  is  certainly  a  person 
of  lofty  prerogative  notions,  who  claims  the  right  to  carry  them,  and  says  that  he 
can  and  will  carry  them,  wherever  he  pleases,  even  to  hell  itself,— a  very  favourite 
place  of  consignment  in  his  judgment. 

I  think  if  Mr.  Tarbutt  chooses  to  lead  up  an  irregular  dance,  he  cannot  expect 
to  be  paid  for  the  steps  he  chooses  to  take  in  it. 

That  is  gross  perversion  of  a  very  useful  practice,  and  instead  of  nipping  suits 
in  the  bud  can  only  make  them  branch  out  into  a  new  and  inordinate  extent  of 
legislation. 

But  we  turn  now  to  the  more  immediate  object  of  the 
present  article,  which  is  to  review  some  of  the  peculiarities  of 
style  that  distinguish  English  literature  at  the  present  period, 
and  point  out  some  faults  which  have  perhaps  too  long  been 
allowed  to  escape  notice,  or  at  all  events  have  not  received 
the  notice  they  deserve.  And  we  should  naturally  begin 
with  the  most  voluminous  author  of  the  day,  of  whom 
and  of  whose  great  work  it  is  wittily  and  tersely  said  in 
'  Coningsby,'  that  '  Mr.  Wordy  wrote  the  history  of  the  late 
war  in  twenty  octavo  volumes,  to  prove  that  Providence  was 
on  the  side  of  the  Tories.'  Need  we  say  that  we  allude  to  Sir 
Archibald  Alison }  It  is  our  deliberate  opinion  that  he 
furnishes  the  most  signal  example  of  what  we  may  charac- 
terise as  imposture  of  style.  And  )'et  he  may  well  laugh  at 
criticism  when  he  looks  at  the  sale  of  his  volumes.  Wc  know 
not  how  many  editions  of  his  '  History  '  have  passed  through 
the  press,  and  'the  cry  is  still,  they  come.'  He  has  no  cause 
to  complain  that 

populus  mc  sibilat, 

but  he  may  certainly  complete  the  quotation,  and  say — 

at  milii  plaudo 
Ipse  domi,  simul  ac  nummos  contemplor  in  area.  ■ 

'  We  cannot  say  we  arc  surprised,  inaccurate  a  scholar.  He  seems  to  be 
but  wc  regret  to  fmd   Sir  A.  Alison  so      quite   ignorant   of  the   rules   of   Latin 


LITERARY  STYLE. 


177 


As  one  of  the  laws  of  the  association  of  ideas  is  contrast, 
the  name  of  Alison  suggests  that  of  Macaulay.  He  is  in 
some  respects  the  most  remarkable  writer  of  his  time  in 
England,  and  beyond  all  doubt  a  consummate  master  of  the 
art  of  composition.  We  do  not  think  that  in  the  whole  of 
the  volumes  of  his  History  which  have  yet  appeared,  there  is 
a  single  carelessly  constructed  sentence.  In  the  power  of 
painting  with  words  he  is  almost  without  a  rival.  From 
musty  pamphlets,  forgotten  letters,  and  mouldy  records,  he 
picks  out  some  striking  or  picturesque  incident — a  grain  of 
gold  in  a  heap  of  rubbish — and  blends  it  in  the  most  telling 
and  effective  manner  with  his  description  or  narrative.  Some 
of  his  passages  are  such  as  could  only  have  been  written  by 
one  who  had  the  eye  of  a  painter  and  the  soul  of  a  poet.  We 
need  not  quote  examples  which  are  familiar  to  all,  such  as  his 
description  of  the  Pass  of  Glencoe  and  his  tale  of  the  horrible 
massacre  there,  but  we  may  point  out  one  or  two  passages 
which  are  more  likely  to  escape  attention,  but  in  which  the 
careful  hand  of  the  artist  is  equally  visible.  With  what  an 
exquisite  touch  is  the  picture  of  Queen  Mary's  funeral 
drawn  : — 

The  day  was  Avell  suited  to  such  a  ceremony.    The  sky  was  dark  and  troubled, 
and  a  few  ghastly  flakes  of  snow  fell  on  the  black  plumes  of  the  funeral  car. 

In  defending  the  provisions  of  the  Toleration  Act  as  having 
put  an  end  to  religious  persecution,  an  ordinary  writer  might 
have  mentioned  that  that  persecution  had  driven  thousands 
beyond  the  sea.  But  let  us  see  how  Mr.  Macaulay  expresses 
the  same  thought  : — 

They  put  an  end  at  once  and  for  ever to  a  persecution 


prosody,  and  frequently  misquotes  the  didicissc,  is  also  a   mistake.      Again,  at 

commonest  passages  of  the  best  known  p.   161  of  the  same  volume  we  find  the 

authors.      In  vol.  i.  p.  45  of  his  recent  following: — 'Virgil    never  showed  his 

Jlistory  we  find  the  following  laughable  knowledge   of  the   human    heart  more 

instance  ! — The  poet  has  said^  than  when  he  wrote  the  line — 

Drtlicisse  fideliter  artes  Gnarus,  furens  quid  femina  possit.' 

EmoUit  mores  nee  sinit  esse  feros.  tt-     •,  ,    ,. 

Virgil   wrote  no  such   line,  for  he  was 

And  that  is  undoubtedly  tme.      Butob-  not  in  the  habit  of  making  false  quanli- 

serve  he  has  not  said    'nee  sinit  esse  ties.      What  he  did  write  was  — 

pravos.'     And  that  also  is  undoubtedly  AT„f„„,   ,, .    f ,,  „  -i  r      ■ 

r  1    f  ,  -'  JNotumque,    furens  quKl  femina    possit. 

true,   and   lor  a  very   good  reason  un-  '  1         '•• 

known  to   Sir  Archibald.       If  the  poet  Sir  A.  Alison   also   misquotes  German, 

had  said  pravos  he  would   have  been  and  even  English,  to   say   nothing    of 

guilty  of  a  false  quantity.     Dedicisse  for  some  extraordinary  mistakes  in  French. 

N 


17 S  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

which  had  driven  thousands  of  those  lionest,  diligent,  and  God-fearing  yeomen 
and  artizans  who  are  the  trui  strength  of  a  nation,  to  seek  a  refuge  beyond  the 
Ocean  among  the  luigivanis  of  Red  Indians  and  the  lairs  of  panthers. 

With  what  dramatic  effect  he  tells  the  death  of  John 
Temple,  Secretaiy-at-War,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  William 
Temple,  who  persuaded  William  III.  to  entrust  Hamilton 
with  the  negotiation  which  was  to  secure  the  submission  of 
Tyrconnel  in  Ireland.  It  is  like  a  scene  in  a  novel.  While 
the  coffee-houses  were  wondering  how  the  King  could  have 
been  duped  by  Hamilton  and  Tyrconnel — 

A  gentleman  went  down  to  the  Temple  Stairs,  called  a  boat,  and  desired  to 
be  pulled  to  Greenwich.  He  took  the  cover  of  a  letter  from  his  pocket,  scratched 
a  few  lines  with  a  pencil,  and  laid  the  paper  on  the  seat,  with  some  silver  for  his 
fare.  As  the  boat  passed  under  the  dark  central  arch  of  London  Bridge,  he  sprang 

mto  the  water  and  disappeared.   It  was  found  he  had  written  these  words 

There  was  no  signature,  but  the  body  was  soon  found,  and  proved  to  be  that  of 
John  Temple. 

But  as  the  great  reviewer  must  submit  to  be  himself  re- 
viewed, we  must  express  our  conviction  that  the  very  brilliancy 
of  Mr.  Macaulay's  style  is  in  some  respects  its  defect.  The 
temptation  to  write  effectively  sometimes  gets  the  better  of 
his  judgment.  His  epithets  are  so  strong  that  they  are  apt 
to  give  an  exaggerated  idea  of  an  incident  or  a  character.  He 
is  too  vehement  and  intense  to  be  safe.  His  pictures  want 
repose.  The  light  flashes  on  every  point  ;  and  we  would 
willingly  sacrifice  the  most  m.arked  antithesis  and  the  most 
epigrammatic  point,  for  the  sake  of  descriptions  which,  if  less 
striking,  might  be  more  fair  and  just.  If  for  a  moment  we 
might  venture  to  imitate  his  style,  we  should  say  that  Mr. 
Macaulay  loves  Dutch  William  with  a  love  passing  the  love 
of  woman,  and  he  hates  Marlborough  with  a  hate  rivalling 
the  hate  of  a  personal  enemy.  This  inevitably  leads  to  ex- 
aggeration, and  exaggeration  in  draA\-ing  the  features  of  a 
character  produces  simply  distortion.  The  power  of  his  style 
is,  however,  beyond  question  admirable.  He  can  make  the 
most  prosaic  fact  subservient  to  the  production  of  the  most 
powerful  effect.  He  startles  the  reader,  who  remembers  that 
the  historian  is  speaking  of  Luxemburg  and  William  III.  of 
England,  by  telling  him  that 

It  is  probable  that,  among  the  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  soldiers  who  were 
marshalled  round   Neerwinden  under  all  the  standards  of  Western  Europe   the 


LITERARY  STYLE.  179 

two  feeblest  in  ho<ly  were  llic  /lUfuh-kicked  dwarf  \\\io  urged  forward  the  fiery 
onset  of  France,  ^x\A  t/w  ast/tiitatic  sMcton  who  covered  the  slow  retreat  of  Eng 
land. 

There  are  two  marked  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Macaulay's 
style  which  we  must  notice  before  we  leave  him.  The  first  is 
the  brevity  of  his  paragraphs.  His  short,  quick  periods  fall 
upon  the  ear  like  the  rapid  firing  of  a  well-served  battery. 
The  second  is  his  habit,  if  we  may  keep  up  the  metaphor,  of 
double-shotting  his  sentences.  By  this  we  mean  his  fondness 
for  repeating  the  principal  or  emphatic  word  of  the  period, 
and  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  a  substitute  or  an  equivalent. 
We  know  no  writer  who  has  so  little  affection  for  the  pronoun, 
or  who  so  seldom  makes  it  do  duty  for  the  noun.  This  pecu- 
liarity often  gives  force  and  spirit  to  a  passage,  but  it  is  used 
so  constantly  that  it  becomes  at  last  a  mannerism.  A  few 
examples  will  give  a  better  idea  of  this  habit  than  any  defini- 
tion or  explanation  can  do. 

Speaking  of  Marlborough's  position  as  regards  William, 
he  says — 

It  might  therefore  have  been  expected  that  he  would  serve  his  new  master  with 
fidelity  ;  not  indeed  with  ih^  fidelity  of  Nottingham,  which  was  ih^  fidelity  of  con- 
scientiousness ;  not  with  i\\Q  fidelity  of  Portland,  which  was  the  fidelity  of  affec- 
tion ;  but  with  the  not  less  stubborn _^^/c-//^'  of  despair. 

Again  : — 

For  all  our  jurists  regarded  Ireland  as  a  mere  colony — more  important  indeed 
than  Massachusetts,  Virginia,  or  jfamaiea,  but,  like  Massachusetts,  J^irgiuia,  or 
yamaica,  dependent  on  the  mother  country. 

Of  Madame  de  Maintenon  we  are  told  that  she  had  'a 
tact  which  surpassed  the  tact  of  her  sex,  as  much  as  the  tact 
of  her  sex  surpasses  ihe  tact  of  ours.'  The  Court  of  Avaux 
opined  for  nobility  with  7^  pining  ^X.  once  pitiable  and  ludicrous.' 
At  the  siege  of  Mons, 

All  the  implements  of  war  had  been  largely  provided  by  Louvois,  the  fust 
of  living  administrators.  The  command  was  entrusted  to  Luxemburg,  the 
first  of  living  generals.  The  scientific  operations  were  directed  by  Vauban, 
the  first  of  living  engineers. 

If  Mr.  Macaulay  wished  to  say  that  Mr,  but  not  Mrs. 
Smith  went  to  Kensington  in  an  omnibus,  he  would  express 
it  thus  :  '  Mr.  Smith  rode  to  Kensington  in  an  omnibus  ;  Mrs. 
Smith  did  not  ride  to  Kensington  in  an  omnibus.' 

Great  as  is  his  power  of  composition,  not  even  Mr.  Macaulay 

N  2 


i8o  £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

can  compete  with  the  historian  of  the  Peninsular  War  in  the 
description  of  a  battle.  In  this,  Sir  William  Napier  is  with- 
out a  rival.  We  believe  he  is  the  first  writer,  in  this  country 
at  least,  who  made  the  story  of  a  campaign  really  interesting. 
And  this  arises  from  the  individuality  of  his  style.  Instead 
of  cold  generic  statements  of  military  operations  in  the  mass, 
which  perplex  and  confuse  the  reader,  he  gives  us  life-like 
details,  and  makes  us  in  part  sharers  in  the  excitement  of  the 
strife.  We  have  the  whole  scene  like  a  picture  before  us.  As 
we  read  his  vivid  narrative  we  seem  to  hear  the  tramp  of  the 
charging  squadrons,  the  sharp  rattle  of  the  musketry,  and  the 
booming  thunder  of  the  artillery.  ^ 

Jam  nunc  minaci  murmuie  cornuum 
Perstringis  aures  :  jam  litui  strepunt  : 

Et  fulgor  armorum  fugaces 

Terret  equos  equitumque  vultus. 

One  great  cause  of  his  success  as  a  writer  is  that  his  des- 
criptions are  drawn  from  personal  experience.  He  has  seen 
what  he  relates.  In  the  great  events  which  his  pen  records 
he  has  been  himself  no  insignificant  an  actor  ;  he  has  wit- 
nessed the  collision  of  hostile  armies  ;  he  has  known 

The  triumph  and  the  agony, 
The  rapture  of  the  strife  ; 

and  has  heard  '  the  earthquake  voice  of  victory '  mingle 
with  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded  and  the  groans  of  the 
dying. 

What  can  be  more  animated  than  the  following  account  of 
the  battle  of  Albucra  : — 

Such  a  gallant  line,  issuing  from  the  midst  of  the  smoke,  and  rapidly  separat- 
ing itself  from  the  confused  and  broken  multitude,  startled  the  enemy's  masses, 
then  augmenting  and  pressing  onwards  as  to  an  assured  victory  ;  they  wavered, 
hesitated,  and  vomiting  forth  a  storm  of  fire,  hastily  endeavoured  to  enlarge  their 
front,  while  a  fearful  discharge  of  grape  from  all  their  artillery  whistled  through 
the  British  ranks.  Myers  was  killed,  Cole,  the  three  colonels— Ellis,  Blakeney, 
and  Hawkshawe— fell  wounded  ;  and  the  Fusilier  battalions,  struck  by  the  iron 
tempest,  reeled  and  staggered  like  sinking  ships  ;  but  suddenly  and  sternly  re- 
covering, they  closed  on  their  terrible  enemies,  and  then  was  seen  with  what  a 
strength  and  majesty  the  British  soldier  fights.  In  vain  did  Soult  with  voice 
and  gesture  animate  his  Frenchmen  ;  in  vain  did  the  hardiest  veterans,  breaking 
from  the  crowded  colunms,  sacrifice  their  lives  to  gain  time  for  the  mass  to  open 
out  on  such  a  fair  field  ;  in  vain  did  the  mass  itself  bear  up,  and,  fiercely  striving, 
fire  indiscriminately  upon  friends  and  foes,  while  the  horsemen,  hovering  on  the 
flank,  threatened  to  charge  the  advancing  line.     Nothing  could  stop  that  astonish- 


LITERARY  STYLE.  i8i 

ing  infantry.  No  sudden  l)uist  of  undisciplined  valour,  no  nervous  enthusiasm 
Mtakcned  the  stability  of  their  order  ;  their  flashing  eyes  were  bent  on  the  dark 
columns  on  their  front,  their  measured  tread  shook  the  ground;  their  dreadful 
volleys  swept  away  the  head  of  every  formation,  their  deafening  shouts  over- 
powered the  dissonant  cries  that  broke  from  all  parts  of  the  tumultuous  crowd,  as, 
slowly  and  with  a  horrid  carnage,  it  was  pushed  by  the  incessant  vigour  of  the 
attack  to  the  farthest  edge  of  the  height.  Then  the  French  reserve,  mixing  with 
the  straggling  multitude,  endeavoured  to  restore  the  flight,  but  only  augmented 
the  irremediable  disorder,  and  the  mighty  mass  giving  away,  like  a  loosened  cliff, 
went  headlong  down  the  steep  :  the  rain  flowed  after  in  streams  discoloured  witli 
blood,  and  eighteen  hundred  unwounded  men,  the  remnant  of  six  thousand  un- 
conquerable British  soldiers,  stood  triumphant  on  the  fatal  hill. 

And  how  terribly  real  is  the  whole  description  of  the 
siege  and  storming  of  Badajos — a  description  which,  as  con- 
veying to  the  mind's  eye  a  perfect  picture  of  the  scene  it 
intends  to  represent,  stands  unrivalled  in  the  history  of  war. 
We  can  only  afford  space  for  a  single  extract : — 

The  rampants  crowded  with  dark  figures  and  glittering  arms  were  on  one  side, 
on  the  other  the  red  columns  of  the  British,  deep  and  broad,  coming  on  like 
streams  of  burning  lava  :  it  was  the  touch  of  the  magician's  wand,  a  crash  of 
thunder  followed,  and  the  storming  parties  were  dashed  to  pieces  by  the  explosion 
of  hundreds  of  shells  and  powder-barrels.  For  an  instant  the  Light  Division 
soldiers  stood  on  the  brink  of  the  ditch  amazed  at  the  terrific  sight,  but  then, 
with  a  shout  that  matched  even  the  explosion,  they  flew  down  the  ladders,  or  dis- 
daining their  aid,  leaped,  reckless  of  the  depth,  into  the  gulf  below  ;  and  nearly 
at  the  same  moment,  amidst  a  blaze  of  musketry  that  dazzled  the  eyes,  the  Fourth 
Division  came  running  in  to  descend  with  a  like  fury. 

It  is  curious  how  few  great  speakers  have  been  also  good 
writers.  It  would  not  however  be  difficult  to  assign  reasons 
for  this,  if  our  limits  permitted  us  to  discuss  the  subject,  but 
it  would  require  a  larger  space  than  we  can  at  present  occupy. 
Cicero  and  Burke  are  splendid  exceptions ;  the  latter  is  not 
only  the  most  eloquent  of  English  orators,  but,  with  the 
exception  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  the  most  eloquent  of  English 
authors.  But  Fox  would  never  have  succeeded  as  an  historian. 
All  the  fire  of  his  genius  seems  to  have  been  extinguished 
when  he  took  up  his  pen,  and  we  can  hardly  believe  that  the 
fervid  orator  who  delivered  the  speech  on  the  Westminster 
Scrutiny,  is  the  same  man  who  wrote  the  History  of  the 
Reign  of  James  11. 

Mr.  Gladstone  is  certainly  no  exception  to  the  rule.  He  is 
beyond  question  the  greatest  orator  in  the  House  of  Commons 
at  the  present  time.  Although  he  is  perhaps  too  subtle  a 
thinker,   and  we  will  add,  has  too  conscientious   a  mind  to 


i82  £SSAVS  CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

attain  the  highest  kind  of  oratory,  the  great  object  of  which  is 
to  persuade,  by  carrying  as  it  were  by  storm  the  feehngs  and 
passions  of  the  audience, — no  one  can  accuse  him  of  not  being 
clear,  pointed,  and  vigorous  in  debate  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
no  one  can  deny  that  he  is  an  obscure  and  intricate  writer.  He 
swims  graceful  as  a  swan  on  the  waters  of  parliamentary  strife, 
but  when  he  takes  up  his  pen  he  is  like  the  same  bird  when 
it  leaves  its  native  element  and  waddles  awkwardly  on  the 
ground. 

We  will  quote  two  passages  from  his  'State  in  its  Relations 
with  the  Church,'  either  of  w^hich,  from  its  involved  style  and 
almost  studied  obscurity,  might  puzzle  an  CEdipus. 

For  how,  as  long  as  the  mass  of  men  are  in  juxtaposition  with  evil  as  a  body, 
should  they  fail  to  be  tainted  by  it  ;  and  how  should  its  elasticity  and  self-propa- 
gation prove  among  such  materials  less  powerful  over  a  kindred  nature,  than  the 
operation  of  a  kindred  nature  over  an  adverse  one  ? 

The  meaning  of  this  question,  we  suppose,  is,  How  should 
evil,  which  is  congenial  to  the  nature  of  man,  be  less  powerful 
than  good,  which  is  opposed  to  that  nature  .''  But  w^e  think 
that  even  Mr.  Gladstone  will  admit  that  if  we  are  mistaken, 
we  are  not  without  excuse. 

Again,  in  the  next  page,  after  saying  that  the  inclinations 
of  individuals  arc  variable,  and  some  prevail  at  one  period 
and  others  at  another,  he  proceeds  as  follows  : — 

But  when  in  some  general  practice  or  law  which  stands  for  an  expression  of 
sovereign  will,  corroborated  by  the  testimony  of  public  concurrence,  there  is 
embodied  some  influence  which  favours  the  one  and  obstructs  the  other  of  these 
drifting  tides  ;  this,  while  it  secures  for  the  sympathetic  principle  free  scope  and 
action  under  its  own  shelter,  likewise  stands  as  a  fixed  barrier  against  the  anta- 
gonistic principle  of  its  alternate  predominance ;  so  that,  for  the  most  part,  it  is 
fully  able,  between  two  conflicting  tendencies,  to  cast  the  balance  ultimately  and 
permanently  in  favour  of  that  which  harmonizes  with  itself. 

We  must  leave  this  passage  to  explain  itself,  for  we  really 
do  not  understand  it. 

Wc  turn  next  to  the  most  popular  and  also  the  most  pro- 
lific author  of  the  day — Mr.  Dickens — whose  style,  we  suppose, 
is  nearly  as  familiar  to  our  readers  as  the  alphabet.  We  think 
he  writes  too  much  and  too  fast ;  and  unless  he  takes  more 
care  than  he  seems  to  think  it  worth  while  to  do  so  long  as 
the  shilling  numbers  of  any  new  novel  from  his  pen  are  sold  by 


LITERARY  STYLE.  183 

thousands,  we  predict  that  he  will  be  the  destroyer  of  his  own 
reputation.     He  has  fallen  into  the  habit  of  repeating  himself 
to  a  degree  which  becomes  wearisome,  and  his  latter  works 
have  proceeded  in  a  descending  scale.     That  which  is  now 
issuing  from  the  press,  '  Little  Dorrit,'  is  decidedly  the  worst. 
His  tone  is  melodramatic  throughout  ;  and  by  this  we  do  not 
mean   the    melodramc   of    Mr.    Harrison   Ainsworth,    whose 
favourite  heroes   are  .highwaymen,   and  who  makes  robbery 
and    house-breaking    romantic  ;    but  we    have    in    his   works 
neither  tragedy  nor  what  used   to  be  called  genteel  comedy, 
which  really  meant  ordinary  social  and  domestic  life.     Mr. 
Dickens   delights    in    the    sayings    and    doings   of    strange, 
grotesque,  out-of-the-way  people,  of  whom  we  hardly  ever 
meet  the  prototypes  in  flesh  and  blood  ;  and  in  every  one  of 
his  tales  he  fastens  some  distinctive  oddities  upon  two  or  three 
of  his   characters,   and   never  allows  them  to  speak  without 
bringing  out  the  peculiarity  in  the  most  marked  and  prominent 
manner.     His  portraits  are  in  fact  caricatures.     He  daguerreo- 
types, so  to  speak,  a  particular  grimace,  and  presents  it  every 
time  that  the  features  come  into  view.      Thus   Pecksniff  is 
always  sententious  and  hypocritical  ;  Micawber  is  always  full 
of  maudlin  sentiment  and  emphatic  nonsense  ;  Gradgrind  is 
always    practical,    to    a   degree   that    ceases   to   be   human ; 
Mrs.  Nickleby  is  always  parenthetical  and  incoherent ;  Mark 
Tapley  is  never  tired  of  telling  us  that  he  is  'jolly;'  Boythorn 
never  opens  his  lips  without  being  intensely  and  boisterously 
energetic ;  Major  Bagstock  always  speaks  of  himself  in  the 
third    person,  as  'J.  B.',  'tough  old  Joe,'  'Joe  is  rough   and 
tough,  sir  !— blunt,  sir,  blunt,  is  Joe  ;'  Uriah  Heap  is  always 
'  'umble,'  '  very  'umble  ; '  and  Mrs.  Gamp  everlastingly  quotes 
as  her  authority  Mrs.  Harris.     Mr.  Dickens  has  also  a  passion 
for  personification,  and  for  giving  to  inanimate  objects  all  the 
attributes  of  life.     We  may  take  as  an  instance  a  passage  at 
the  beginning  of  '  Martin  Chuzzlewit,'  where  he  describes  a 
gusty  evening  : — 

It  was  small  tyranny  for  a  respectable  wind  to  go  wreaking  its  vengeance  on 
such  poor  creatures  as  the  fallen  leaves,  but  this  wind  happening  to  come  up  with 
a  great  heap  of  them  just  after  venting  its  humour  on  the  insulted  Dragon,  did  so 
disperse  and  scatter  them,  that  they  fled  away,  pell-mell,  som.e  here,  some  there, 
rolling  over  each  other,  whirling  round  and  round  upon  their  thin  edges,  taking 
frantic  flights  into  the  air,  and  playing  all  manner  of  extraordinary  gambols  in  the 


i84         ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

extremity  of  their  distress.  Nor  was  this  enough  for  its  mahcious  fury  :  for,  not 
content  with  driving  them  abroad,  it  charged  small  paities  of  them  and  hunted 
them  into  the  wheelwright's  sawpit,  and  below  the  planks  and  timbers  in  the 
yard  ;  and,  scattering  the  sawdust  in  the  air,  it  looked  for  them  underneath,  and 
when  it  did  meet  with  any,  whew  !  how  it  drove  them  on  and  followed  at  their 
heels  ! 

Take,  again,  the  following  extravaganza  from  '  Little 
Dorrit  :'— 

Mr.  Casby  lived  in  a  street  in  the  Gray's  Inn-road,  which  had  set  off  from  that 
thoroughfare  with  the  intention  of  running  at  one  heat  down  into  the  valley,  and 
up  again  to  the  top  of  Pentonville-hill ;  but  which  had  run  itself  out  of  breath  iu 
twenty  yards,  and  had  stood  still  ever  since.  There  is  no  such  place  in  that  part 
now  ;  but  it  remained  there  for  many  years,  looking  with  a  baulked  countenance 
at  the  wilderness  patched  with  unfruitful  gardens,  and  pimpled  with  eruptive 
summer-houses,  that  it  had  meant  to  run  over  in  no  time. 

The  two  opposite  poles  between  which  Mr.  Dickens  con- 
stantly oscillates,  are  comic  humour  pushed  to  buffoonery, 
and  sentiment  carried  to  maudlin  excess.  He  seems  to  have 
little  conception  of  a  well-constructed  plot,  and  the  interest  in 
his  novels  is  kept  up  by  a  succession  of  detached  and  shifting 
scenes,  and  the  introduction  of  an  endless  variety  of  funny 
persons,  while  the  story  is  left  to  drift  on  without  much 
guidance,  and  take  care  of  itself  as  best  as  it  may.  His 
characters  are  all  exaggerations.  We  doubt  if  there  is  one 
which,  as  he  has  drawn  it,  occurs  in  real  life.  The  substratum, 
so  to  speak,  may  indeed  exist  there,  but  on  this  he  erects  a 
superstructure  so  fanciful  and  fantastic  that  nature  disowns 
the  resemblance.  Our  readers  have  no  doubt  seen  in  the  shop 
windows  little  grotesque  figures  in  terra  cotta  of  celebrated 
actors,  singers,  and  musicians,  where  the  head  is  made  mon- 
strously large  in  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the  body,  and  the 
features  are  ridiculously  exaggerated.  These  forcibly  remind 
us  of  Mr.  Dickens's  characters.  He  has  also  a  marvellous 
talent  for  minute  description.  No  Dutch  painter  ever  depicted 
an  interior  with  more  servile  fidelity  than  Mr.  Dickens  draws 
still  life  with  his  pen.  His  marine  storeshops,  his  frouzy 
dwellings,  his  dull  November  streets,  his  Jews'  alleys,  and 
Jacob's  islands,  rival  the  pictures  of  Teniers  and  Ostadc. 
Ikit  while  we  admire  the  painter  we  arc  apt  to  grow  weary  of 
the  writer.  The  eye  of  the  spectator  can  take  in  the  whole  of  a 
picture  at  a  glance,  but  the  mind  of  the  reader  must  go  through 
the  successive  points  of  a  description  until  it  becomes  fatigued 


LITERARY  STYLE.  1S5 

by  the  multiplicity  of  details.  A  favourite  form  or  ratlier 
trick  of  expression  with  this  author  is  circumlocution,  whereby 
he  gives  an  air  of  comic  originality  to  the  commonest  incidents 
and  most  hackneyed  sayings.  He  uses,  indeed,  a  circuitous 
phraseology  as  frequently  as  any  of  the  Barnacle  family  in 
his  own  Circumlocution  Office.  His  satire  is  keen,  but  so  far 
as  we  remember,  is  never  ill-natured.  He  delights  in  showing 
up  a  foible,  whether  of  character  or  manners  ;  and  the  instru- 
ment he  employs  for  this  purpose  is  good-humoured  irony,  in 
Avhich  he  playfully  says  the  very  opposite  of  his  real  meaning. 
But  we  are  now  criticising  the  genius  rather  than  the  style  of 
this  remarkable  writer  ;  and  yet  they  are  so  intimately  con- 
nected that  it  is  difficult  to  separate  them. 

One  other  fault  we  must  mention  before  we  quit  the  sub- 
ject, and  that  is  his  habit  of  pushing  an  idea  to  the  extreme 
He  never  lightly  touches  a  subject,  and  then  leaves  it  to  the 
imagination  of  the  reader  to  fill  up  the  outline.  He  hugs  the 
child  of  his  fancy  in  his  arms,  fondles  it,  caresses  it,  forces  it  on 
our  attention,  and  asks  us  to  examine  it  until  we  grow  tired 
of  the  display,  and  refuse  to  admire  what  is  so  perseveringly 
obtruded  on  our  notice.  No  man  ever  rode  a  metaphor 
harder  than  Mr.  Dickens.  We  will  give  one  example  from 
*  Little  Dorrit.' 

It  occurs  to  him  to  liken  an  old  gentleman  who  is  a  good 
deal  under  the  dominion  of  his  clerk,  named  Pancks,  to  '  an 
unw^ieldy  ship  in  the  Thames  ....  when  all  of  a  sudden  a 
little  coaly  steam-tug  will  bear  down  upon  it,  take  it  in  tow, 
and  bustle  off  with  it.'  After  a  considerable  interval,  we  are 
told  that  the  Patriarch 

rose  and  went  to  the  door  by  which  Tancks  had  worked  out,  haiUng  that  tug  by 
name.  He  received  an  answer  from  some  little  dock  beyond,  and  was  towed  out 
of  sight  directly. 

Again,  three  pages  further  on,  we  have  : — 

Tancks  dined  with  them.     Pancks  steamed  out  of  his  little  dock  at  a  quarter 

before  six,  and  bore   straight  down  for  the   Tatriarch Tancks  instantly 

made  fast  to  him,  and  hauled  him  out Pancks   took  in  his  victuals  as  if 

he  were  coaling  ;  with  a  good  deal  of  noise,  a  good  deal  of  drooping  about,  and 
a  puff  and  a  snort  occasionally,  as  if  he  were  nearly  ready  to  steam  away. 

A  page  or  two  still  further — 

'Good  night!'  said  Clennam.  But  the  Tug  suddenly  lightened,  and  un- 
trammelled by  having  any  weight,  he  too  was  already  puffing  away  into  the 
distance. 


1 86         £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

And  so  it  goes  on  chapter  after  chapter.  We  have  the  Tug 
puffing  and  snorting  and  coahng  and  pulling  and  hauling  ; 
until  we  really  forget  that  all  the  time  it  is  the  description  of 
a  person  and  not  of  a  steamboat. 

The  rival  of  Mr.  Dickens  with  the  public  is  Mr. Thackeray — 
a  very  different,  and  in  our  opinion  a  very  superior,  workman 
in  the  same  craft  as  a  novelist.  He  belongs,  however,  specially 
to  the  Humourists, — that  small  but  chosen  band  of  writers 
who,  from  Rabelais  downwards,  at  rare  intervals  have  thrown 
out  their  sportive  sallies  to  delight  those  who  can  understand 
and  appreciate  the  deep  meaning  which  may  be  veiled  under  the 
form  of  irony.  After  Rabelais — Swift,  Sterne,  and  Charles  Lamb 
have  been  the  chief  leaders  of  this  school  ;  and  of  them  all  we 
prefer  the  charming  author  of  the  '  Essays  of  Elia.'  His  style 
often  reminds  us  of  the  sweetest  music  produced  by  the  lightest 
touch.  His  fine-toned  irony,  his  subtle  wit  and  exquisite 
criticism,  have  never  been  surpassed.  The  nicest  shades  and 
glimpses  of  thought  are  pencilled  off  Avith  unrivalled  delicacy 
of  touch.  His  style  is  the  perfect  reflex  of  his  own  gentle 
and  affectionate  nature,  which  clung  so  warmly  to  and  yet 
sported  so  playfully  with  the  objects  of  his  attachment.  Well 
might  he  ask — 

Sun  and  sky  and  breeze,  and  solitary  -walks  and  summer  holidays,  and  the 
greenness  of  fields,  and  the  delicious  juices  of  meats  and  fishes,  and  society 
and  candlelight,  and  fireside  conversations,  and  innocent  vanities  and  jests,  and 
irony  itself, — do  these  things  go  out  with  life  ? 

Can  a  ghost  laugh  or  shake  his  gaunt  sides  when  you  are  pleasant  with  him  ? 

And  you,  my  midnight  darlings,  my  Folios  !  must  I  part  with  the  intense 
delight  of  having  you  (huge  armfuls)  in  my  embrace  ?  Must  knowledge  come  to 
me,  if  it  come  at  all,  by  some  awkward  experiment  of  intuition,  and  no  longer  by 
the  familiar  process  of  reading  ? 

Southey's  '  Doctor'  is  also  a  delightful  book  of  the  same 
class.  But  it  requires  'audience  fit  though  few,'  and  had 
better  not  be  approached  by  those  who  have  no  Pantagruelism 
in  their  nature,  and  who  arc  like  Charles  Lamb's  Caledonian, 
with  whom  you  *  must  speak  on  the  square,  and  clap  an 
extinguisher  upon  your  irony,  if  you  are  unhappily  blest  with 
a  vein  of  it.     Remember  you  are  upon  your  oath.' 

Mr.  Thackeray,  however,  is  not  always  a  humourist,  and 
he  can  write  without  being  satirical.     Witness  his  '  Esmond,' 


LITERARY  STYLE.  1S7 

the  most  carefully  written  of  all  his  works,  and  the  one  in 
which  he  has  most  conspicuously  shown  that  he  is  a  complete 
master  of  style.  INIuch  as  we  dislike  the  story,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  admire  the  consummate  skill  with  which  he  has  there 
imitated  the  best  writers  of  the  time  of  Queen  Anne,  and  we 
can  but  regret  that  it  is  at  best  only  an  imitation,  a  spurious 
antique,  and  that  the  author  devoted  his  powers  to  the  repro- 
duction of  a  style  which  has  passed  away,  and  to  the  composi- 
tion of  a  work  which  must  be  regarded  rather  as  a  literary 
curiosity  than  a  book  of  enduring  reputation.  And  we  may 
say  the  same  of  those  deceptive  little  books  of  the  class  of 
'  Lady  Willoughby's  Diary,'  '  Cherry  and  Violet,'  and  '  Mary 
Powell,'  whose  authoresses  attempt  to  realise  in  prose  Avhat 
Chatterton  tried  in  poetry,  and  palm  off  a  style 

All  deftly  mr.sked  as  hoar  antiquity, 

to  play  tricks  upon  the  public.  But  although  with  the  aid  of 
antique  type  and  binding,  and  by  means  of  a  broad  imitation 
of  the  style  of  the  seventeenth  century,  these  books  might 
possibly  pass  with  a  careless  reader  as  genuine  productions  of 
that  period,  they  betray  themselves  by  the  absence  of  any 
distinctive  peculiarities  of  style  proper  to  the  particular  times 
and  persons  at  which  and  by  whom  they  profess  to  be  written. 
They  are  in  fact  about  as  correct  as  a  dress  would  be  made  up 
out  of  the  wardrobes  of  a  courtier  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
and  a  courtier  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 

In  his  last  two  novels,  'The  Caxtons '  and  'My  Novel,' 
Sir  Edward  Bulwer  Lytton  has  also  striven  for  a  place 
amongst  the  humourists,  but  we  think  with  indifferent  success. 
Humour  is  certainly  not  his  forte,  and  no  writer  who  was 
blest  with  the  vein  would  have  condescended  to  appear  as  the 
servile  copyist  of  the  manner  of  another.  To  use  a  nautical 
metaphor  suggested  by  Mr.  Dickens's  steam-tug, 'The  Caxtons' 
was  laid  down  on  the  lines  of  '  Tristram  Shandy,'  and  the  new 
ship  has  neither  the  trim  nor  the  sailing  qualities  of  her  model. 
But  wc  willingly  admit  that,  in  point  of  simplicity  and  ease  of 
style,  there  is  in  his  last  two  works  a  great  improvement.  The 
style  of  his  former  novels  is  too  stilted  and  high-flown,  and 
the  author,  haunted  with  the  idea  of  the  necessity  of  keeping 
up  the   dignity  of  his  subject,    adopted    a   phraseology  too 


i88  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

affected  for  the  natural  language  of  ordinary  life.     Take,  for 
instance,  the  following  passages  from  '  Rienzi '  : — 

And  with  scarce  less  eagerness  he  laved  his  enfeebled  form  and  haggard  face 
with  the  water  that  stood  at  hand.  He  now  felt  refreshed  and  invigorated,  and 
began  to  indue  his  gaiTnents,  which  he  found  thrown  in  a  heap  beside  the  bed. 

Again  : — 

He  glanced  over  the  slain,  as  the  melancholy  Hesperus  played  upon  the 
bloody  pool  and  the  gory  corslet. 

Even  in  '  The  Caxtons,'  Sir  Edward  cannot  condescend  to 
speak  of  a  '  hackney-coachman,'  but  calls  him  '  a  ministrant 
of  Trivia.'  This  may  be  called  fine  writing,  but  we  think  it  is 
ridiculous  Euphemism. 

We  now  come  to  a  school  of  writers  of  which  the  great 
Hierophant  is  Mr.  Carlyle.  He  is,  we  believe,  the  first  who 
introduced  it  into  this  country,  having  imported  it — or,  at  all 
events,  many  of  its  characteristics— from  Germany,  We  have 
already  attempted  to  describe  some  of  the  features  of  German 
prose  ;  and  with  respect  to  the  metaphysical  writers  in  that 
language,  we  will  only  add  what  is  wittily  said  by  the  Brothers 
Hare,  in  their  '  Guesses  at  Truth,'  that  'when  the  dry  rot  gets 
into  the  house  of  a  German  philosopher,  his  disciples  pick  up 
handfuls  of  the  dust,  and  fancy  it  will  serve  instead  of  timber.' 

In  Mr.  Carlyle's  later  style,  the  whole  structure  of  his  lan- 
guage is  often  in  a  state  of  contortion — 

The  fire  in  the  caverns  of  y-Etna  conceal'd 

Still  mantles  unseen  in  its  secret  recess  ; 
At  length  in  a  volume  terrific  reveal'd, — 

No  torrent  can  quench  it,  no  bounds  can  repress. 

But  it  is  not  his  natural  manner.  His  '  Life  of  Schiller', 
one  of  his  earliest  works,  is  a  well-written  biography,  composed 
in  an  easy,  unaffected  style,  and  entirely  free  from  the  peculiar 
mannerism  of  his  subsequent  works. 

We  will,  without  comment,  give  a  few  specimens  of  his 
present  style,  that  our  readers  may  judge  of  its  merits  for 
themselves. 

In  his  'Latter-day  Pamphlets,'  speaking  of  the  necessity 
of  reform  in  the  administrative  establishments  in  Downing 
Street,  Mr.  Carlyle  says,  'that  to  clean  out  the  dead  pedan- 
tries, unrealities,  indolent,  somnolent  impotcncies,  and  accu- 


LITERARY  STYLE.  1S9 

mulated  dung-mountains  there,  is  the  beginning  of  all  practical 
good  whatsoever  ;  and  that 

such  mountains  of  pedant  exuvias  and  obscene  owl-droppings  have  accumulated  in 
those  regions,  long  the  habitation  of  doleful  creatures  ;  the  old  pavements,  the 
natural  facts  and  real  essential  functions  of  those  establishments,  have  not  been 
seen  for  these  two  hundred  years  past !  Herculean  men  acquainted  with  the 
virtues  of  running  water,  and  with  the  divine  necessity  of  getting  down  to  the  clear 
pavements  and  old  veracities  ;  who  tremble  before  no  amount  of  pedant  exuvia>, 
no  loudest  shrieking  of  doleful  creatures  ;  who  tremble  only  to  live,  themselves, 
like  inane  phantasms,  and  to  leave  their  life  as  a  paltry  contribution  to  the  guano 
mountains,  and  not  as  a  divine  eternal  protest  against  them  ! 

The  career  by  which  Members  of  Parliament  become 
Prime  Ministers  is  thus  described  in  '  The  New  Downing 
Street' :  — 

Poor  wretches,  their  industry  is  mob-worship,  place-worihip,  parliamentary  in- 
trigue, and  the  mutiple  x  art  of  tongue-fence  ;  flung  into  that  bad  element,  there 
they  swim  for  decades  long,  throttling  and  wrestling  one  another  according  to 
their  strength, — and  the  toughest  or  luckiest  gets  to  land  and  becomes  Premier. 
A  more  entirely  unbeautiful  class  of  Premiers  was  never  raked  out  of  the  ooze  and 
set  on  high  places,  by  any  ingenuity  of  man. 

Huge  inorganic  England,  nigh  choked  under  the  exuvice  of  a  thousand  years, 
and  blindly  sprawling  amid  Chartisms,  ballot-boxes,  prevenient  graces,  and  bis- 
hops' nightmares,  must,  as  the  preliminary  and  commencement  of  organisation, 
learn  to  breathe  again,— get  '  lungs '  for  herself  again,  as  we  defined  it. 

The  literature  of  the  present  day  is  defined  thus  : — 

Canaille  of  all  the  loud-sounding  levities,  and  general  winnowings  of  Chaos, 
marching  through  the  world  in  a  most  ominous  manner  ;  proclaiming,  audibly  if 
you  have  ears  :  '  Twelfth  hour  of  the  Night ;  ancient  graves  yawning  ;  pale 
clammy  Puseyisms  screeching  in  their  winding-sheets ;  owls  busy  in  the  City 
I'egions  ;  many  goblins  abroad  !  Awake  ye  living  ;  dream  no  more  ;  arise  to 
judgement !  Chaos  and  Gehenna  are  broken  loose  ;  the  Devil  with  his  Bedlams 
must  be  flung  in  chains  again,  and  the  Last  of  the  Days  is  about  to  dawn  ! '  Such 
is  literature  to  the  reflective  soul  at  this  moment. 

Of  the  spasmodic  style,  with  certain  modifications  peculiar 
to  himself,  Mr.  Emerson,  the  American  author,  affords  a  con- 
spicuous example.  His  constant  effort  is  to  be  smart,  telling 
and  epigrammatic,  and  he  will  rather  talk  nonsense  than  not 
appear  to  be  witty  and  original.  Thus,  in  his  '  English  Traits' 
he  tells  the  world  that  in  Great  Britain  '  a  manufacturer  sits 
down  to  dinner  in  a  suit  of  clothes  which  was  wool  on  a  sheep's 
back  at  sunrise  ;'  that  '  the  influence  of  Plato  tinges  the  British 
genius.  Their  minds  loved  analogy  ;  were  cognizant  of  re- 
semblances, and  climbers  on  the  staircase  of  unity  ;'  and  that 
'  it  was  a  curious  result  in  which  the  civility  and  religion  of 


I90  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

England  for  a  thousand  years  ends,  in  denying  morals  and 
reducing  the  intellect  to  a  saucepan.'  As  might  be  expected, 
such  a  strainer  after  originality  of  expression  does  not  always 
condescend  to  be  intelligible,  as  for  instance  in  the  following 
passage  : — 

The  necessities  of  mental  structure  force  all  minds  into  a  few  categories,  and 
where  impatience  of  the  tricks  of  men  makes  Nemesis  amiable,  and  builds  altars 
to  the  negative  deity,  the  inevitable  recoil  is  to  heroism  or  the  gallantry  of  the 
private  heart,  which  decks  its  immolation  with  glory,  in  the  unequal  combat  of 
will  against  fate. 

It  would  be  unpardonable,  in  an  article  which  discusses 
the  question  of  literary  style,  not  to  make  mention  of  Mr.  De 
Ouincey,  whom  Dean  Trench,  in  that  admirable  little  book, 
'English,  Past  and  Present,'  which  we  have  prefixed  to  this 
article,  calls  '  the  greatest  living  master  of  our  English  tongue.' 
In  this  we  entirely  agree  with  him,  and  it  is  difficult  for  us  to 
express  how  highly  we  think  of  Mr.  De  Ouincey's  essays, 
whether  as  regards  the  subtlety  of  the  thoughts  or  the  charm 
of  the  composition.  But  the  style  is  a  peculiar  one.  One  of 
its  chief  characteristics  is  discursiveness.  It  reminds  us  some- 
times of  an  old-fashioned  rambling  building,  full  of  winding 
passages  and  out-of-the-way  rooms.  Or  we  may  compare  it 
to  a  piece  of  music,  in  which  the  original  air  is  almost  lost  in 
the  multiplicity  of  the  variations.  If  you  take  a  walk  with 
Mr.  De  Ouincey,  you  must  not  expect  to  be  carried  along  a 
straight  and  beaten  highway,  but  to  wander  through  thickets 
and  along  by-lanes,  and  to  be  brought  to  your  destination  by 
circuitous  and  seldom-trodden  paths.  Metaphor  may  be 
allowed  in  describing  a  writer  who  is  himself  so  largely  and 
often  so  quaintly  metaphorical.  Thus,  speaking  of  the  exple- 
tives of  a  Westmoreland  farmer,  as  an  illustration  of  the  ex- 
pletives of  Plato  (curious  juxtaposition  !),  he  says  : — 

It  is  the  balustrade  which  enables  \\m\  to  descend  the  stairs  of  conversation 
without  Hilling  overboard. 

With  reference  to  M.  Michelet's  work,  '  Du  PrCtre,'  he  tells 
us  : — 

That  book  is  a  rhapsody  of  incoherence.  But  his  '  History  of  France '  is  quite 
another  thing.  A  man,  in  whatever  craft  he  sails,  cannot  stretch  away  out  of 
sight,  when  he  is  linked  to  the  windings  of  the  shore  l.^y  the  towing-ropes  of 
history. 

Adverting  to  the  necessity,  according  to  the  popular  notion 


LITERAR  V  STYLE. 


191 


in  France,  that  Charles  VI.  should  be  crowned  at  Rhcims, 
before  his  English  competitor,  to  give  him  a  kuvful  title  to  the 
throne,  he  says  : — 

Now  that  v/as  to  be  a  race  for  a  coronation  ;  he  that  should  win  that  race 
carried  the  superstition  of  France  along  with  him  ;  he  that  should  first  be  drawn 
from  the  ovens  of  Rheims  was  under  that  superstition  baked  into  a  king. 

Again  : — 

Up  and  down  the  writings  of  a  philosopher  will  be  detected  hooks  and  eyes, 
lurking  more  or  less  obscurely,  that  were  fitted  to  infibulate  (or  perhaps  meant  to 
infibulate  him)  into  the  great  draperies  and  arras  of  the  philosophical  speculations 
hanging  down  to  coming  generations. 

Oh  Cicero  !  my  poor  thoughtless  Cicero  !  in  all  your  shallow  metaphysics,  not 
once  did  you  give  utterance  to  such  a  bounce  as  when  you  asserted  that  never  did 

human  reason  say  one  thing  and  nature  say  another Did  the  reader  ever 

study  the  Antinoniks  of  Kant  ?  If  not,  he  has  read  nothing.  Now  there  he  will 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  set  of  quadrilles  or  reels  in  which  Old  Mother  Rea- 
son amuses  herself  by  dancing  to  the  right  and  left  two  variations  of  blank  con- 
tradiction to  old  Mother  Truth,  both  variations  being  irrefragable,  each  variation 
contradicting  the  other,  each  contradicting  the  equatorial  reality,  and  each  alike 
(though  past  all  denial)  being  a  lie. 

St.  Austin  in  his  confessions,  and  whenever  he  becomes  peculiarly  interestin"- 
is  apt  to  be  impassioned  and  fervent  to  a  degree  which  makes  him  break  out  of 
the  proper  pace  of  rhetoric.     He  is  matched  to  trot,  and  is  continually  breakinf 
into  a  gallop. 

But  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  I\Ir.  De 
Quincey  makes  use  of  metaphor  only,  or  even  chiefly,  in  such 
semi-ludicrous  fashion  as  the  above  quotations  might  seem  to 
indicate.  No  writer  knows  better  how  to  employ  it  appro- 
priately to  present  to  the  mind's  eye  a  beautiful  image,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  furnishes  a  perfect  illustration  of  the  sub- 
ject. Take,  for  instance,  the  following  exquisite  passage, 
which  is  thrown  carelessly  into  a  note,  as  if  the  writer  were 
wealthy  enough  to  cast  away  his  jewels.  Speaking  of  the 
almost  incredible  popularity  of  the  '  De  Imitatione  Christi  ' 
he  says : — 

At  that  time  the  Bil^le  itself  was  a  fountain  of  inspired  truth  everywhere  sealed 
up  ;  but  a  whisper  ran  through  the  western  nations  of  Europe  that  the  work  of 
Thomas  a  Kempis  contained  some  slender  rivulets  of  truth,  silently  stealing  away 
into  light,  from  that  interdicted  fountain. 

But  to  appreciate  the  merits  in  point  of  style  of  this  de- 
lightful writer,  he  must  be  read,  not  in  extracts,  but  continu- 
ously ;  and  we  would  refer  those  who  ^\■ish  to  know  how  far 
the  flexibility  and  power  of  the  P2nglish  language  can  be 
carried,  to  the  edition  of  his  collected  works  now  issuing  from 
the  press. 


192  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  Mr.  Ruskin's  theories  about 
painting  and  architecture,  and  whether  he  is  right  or  wrong 
in  his  worship  of  Turner,  and  his  contempt  of  the  Five  Orders, 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  is  the  master  of  a  rich  and  re- 
dundant style.  We  remember  seeing  it  described  as  '  terse, 
vigorous,  and  sparkling;'  but  we  think  that  epithets  could 
hardly  have  been  worse  chosen.  Such  criticism  reminds  us  of 
an  anecdote  told  by  Coleridge  of  himself  He  was  one  day 
gazing  in  rapture  at  some  waterfall  in  Scotland — we  think  it 
was  the  Fall  of  Foyers — and  at  a  loss  how  to  express  his  ad- 
miration, when  he  heard  somebody  behind  him  exclaim — 
*  How  majestic  !'  *  Thank  you.  Sir!'  said  Coleridge,  '  that  is 
just  the  word  I  wanted.'  'Yes,'  replied  the  stranger,  all  un- 
conscious of  the  happy  propriety  of  his  former  epithet,  'yes, 
it  is  \Q.xy  pretty  r 

Mr.  Ruskin  is  vigorous,  no  doubt,  as  a  man  must  be  who 
thinks  so  strongly,  and  expresses  himself  so  forcibly  ;  but  we 
might  as  well  talk  of  the  terseness  and  sparkle  of  Jeremy 
Taylor  or  Edmund  Burke,  as  apply  those  terms  to  the  style 
of  the  author  of  '  Modern  Painters.'  Instead  of  being  terse, 
it  is  remarkably  diffuse  ;  and  if  we  were  to  describe  it  by  a 
metaphor,  we  should  speak  of  it  as  a  vegetation  that  some- 
times runs  riot  in  its  wild  luxuriance.  Indeed  Mr.  Ruskin's 
fault  is  too  great  exuberance  of  imagery,  and  too  lavish  a  pro- 
fusion of  epithets.  He  indulges  too  much  in  rhetorical  pomp, 
and  now  and  then,  but  not  often,  is  betrayed  into  a  conceit 
which  seems  to  be  borrowed  from  Mr.  Dickens.  Thus  he 
describes  streamlets  amongst  the  Alps,  finding  their  way  down 
to  the  turf, 

with  quiet  depth  of  clear  water,  furrowing  among  the  grass  blades,  and  looking 
only  like  their  shadow,  but  presently  emerging  again  in  little  startled  gushes  and 
laughing  hurries,  as  if  they  had  remembered  suddenly  that  the  day  was  too  short  for 
them  to  i;et  dinoi  the  hilt. 

And  he  speaks  of  trees  as  if  they  were  persons  or  cattle 

crowding  down  together  to  drink  at  sweetest  streams,  climbing  hand  in  hand 
among  the  difficult  slopes,  opening  in  sudden  dances  round  the  mossy  knolls, 
gliding  in  grave  procession  over  the  heavenward  ridges. 

I^ut  he  often  rises  into  a  strain  of  noble  eloquence — the 
eloquence  of  a  man  who  is  enthusiastic  in  his  love  for  truth 
and  beauty,  both  in  nature  and  in  art,  and  grand  in  his  scorn 


LITER AR  V  STYLE. 


193 


of  whatever  is  false,  grovelling,  or  base.  In  reading  his  works 
you  always  feel  that  you  have  to  do  with  a  man  who  is  full  of 
his  subject  and  thoroughly  in  earnest.  Every  reader  of  Mr. 
Ruskin  knows  his  passion  for  the  clouds  and  the  mountains. 
They  are  the  objects  of  his  heart's  idolatry,  and  on  them  he 
lavishes  the  full  power  of  his  imagination.  He  understands 
by  the  making  of  the  firmament,  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis, 
the  ordinance  of  the  clouds,  and  he  describes  them  as 

going  forth  at  their  pleasure  like  the  armies  of  the  angels,  and  choosing  their 
encampments  upon  the  heights  of  tlie  hills  ;  no  longer  hurried  downwards  for 
ever,  moving  but  to  fall,  nor  lost  in  the  lightless  accumulation  of  the  abyss,  but 
covering  the  east  and  west  with  the  waving  of  their  wings,  and  robing  the  gloom 
of  the  farther  infinite  with  a  vesture  of  divers  colours,  of  wiiich  the  threads  are 

purple  and  scarlet,  and  the  embroideries  flame And  all  those  passings  to 

and  fro  of  fruitful  shower  and  grateful  shade,  and  all  those  visions  of  moaning 
winds  and  threatening  thunders  and  glories  of  coloured  robes  and  cloven  ray,  are 
but  to  deepen  in  our  hearts  the  acceptance,  and  distinctness,  and  clearness  of  the 
simple  words,  '  Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven  ! ' 

In  the  following  passage  how  he  pictures  in  their  sublimity 
the  awful  character  of  some  of  the  precipices  of  the  Alps  : — 

Dark  in  colour,  robed  with  everlasting  mourning,  for  ever  tottering  like  a  great 
fortress  shaken  by  wzr,  fearful  as  much  in  their  weakness  as  in  their  strength,  and 
yet  gathered  after  every  fall  into  darker  froMTis  and  unhumiliating  threatening  ; 
for  ever  incapable  of  comfort  or  healing  from  herb  or  flower,  nourishing  no  root 
in  their  crevices,  touched  by  no  hue  of  life  on  buttress  or  ledge,  but  to  the  utmost 
desolate  ;  knowing  no  shaking  of  leaves  in  the  wind  nor  of  grass  beside  the 
stream, — no  other  motion  but  their  own  mortal  shivering,  the  dreadful  cnimbling 
of  atom  from  atom  in  their  corrupting  stones  ;  knowing  no  sound  of  living  voice 
or  living  tread,  cheered  neither  by  the  kid's  bleat  nor  the  marmot's  ciy  ;  haunted 
only  by  uninterrupted  echoes  from  afar  off,  wandering  hither  and  thither  amon"- 
their  walls,  unable  to  escape,  and  by  the  hiss  of  angry  torrents,  and  sometimes  the 
shriek  of  a  bird  that  flits  near  the  face  of  them,  and  sweeps  frightened  back  from 
under  their  shadow  into  the  gulf  of  air  ;  and  sometimes,  when  the  echo  has  fainted 
and  the  wind  has  carried  the  sound  of  the  torrent  away,  and  the  bird  has  vanished, 
and  the  mouldering  stones  are  still  for  a  little  time— a  brown  moth,  opening  and 
shutting  its  wings  upon  a  grain  of  dust,  may  be  the  only  thing  that  moves  or  feels 
in  all  the  waste  of  weary  precipice  darkening  five  thousand  feet  of  the  blue  depth 
of  heaven. 

Nor  do  we  think  that  Turner  could  have  more  vividly 
drawn  with  his  pencil  than  Mr.  Ruskui  has  described  with  his 
pen  the  ruined  old  tower  of  Calais  Church,  which,  he  says,  he 
always  contemplates  with  peculiar  affection  : — 

The  large  neglect,  the  noble  unsightliness  of  it ;  tlie  record  of  its  years  written 
so  visibly  yet  without  sign  of  weakness  or  decay  ;  its  stem  wasteness  and  gloom, 
eaten  away  by  the  Channel  winds,  and  overgrown  with  the  bitter  sea  grasses  ;  its 
slates  and  tiles  all  shaken  and  rent,  and   yet  not  falling  ;  its  desert  of  brickwork, 

O 


194  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

full  of  bolts  and  holes  and  ugly  fissures,  and  yet  strong  like  a  bare  brown  rock  ; 
its  carelessness  of  what  any  one  thinks  or  feels  about  it,  putting  forth  no  claim 
having  no  beauty,  nor  desirableness,  pride  nor  grace  ;  yet  neither  asking  for  pity 
not,  as  ruins  are,  useless  and  piteous,  feebly  or  fondly  garrulous  of  better  days, 
but  useful  still,  going  through  its  own  daily  work — as  some  old  fisherman,  beaten 
grey  by  storm,  yet  drawing  his  daily  nets  ;  so  it  stands,  with  no  complaint  about 
its  past  youth,  in  blanched  and  meagre  massiveness  and  serviceableness,  gathering 
human  souls  together  underneath  it  ;  the  somrd  of  its  bells  for  prayer  still  rolling 
through  its  rents  ;  and  the  grey  peak  of  it  seen  far  across  the  sea,  principal  of  the 
three  that  rise  above  the  waste  of  surfy  sand  and  hillocked  shore — the  lighthouse 
for  life,  and  the  belfry  for  labour,  and  this  for  patience  and  praise. 

But  sometimes  Mr.  Ruskin  in  trying  to  soar  sinks  into 
bombast.     Alluding  to  the  Crimean  war,  he  says  : — 

The  scarlet  of  the  blood  that  has  sealed  this  covenant  will  be  poured  along  the 
clouds  of  a  new  Aurora,  glorious  in  that  Eastern  heaven  ;  for  ez'cry  sob  of  -wreck- 
fed  breaker  round  those  Pontic  precipices,  the  floods  shall  clap  their  hands  between 
the  guarded  mounts  of  the  Prince- Angel;  and  the  spirits  of  those  lost  multitudes, 
crowned  with  the  olive  and  rose  among  the  laurel,  shall  haunt,  satisfied,  the 
willowy  brooks  and  peaceful  vales  of  England,  and  glide  triumphant  by  the  poplar 
groves  and  sunned  coteaux  of  Seine. 

The  sentence  here  marked  in  italics  is  much  too  fine  for 
our  comprehension  ;  nor  is  it  at  all  obvious  why  the  spirits  of 
the  dead  warriors  should  be  only  *  satisfied  '  when  they  haunt 
the  vales  of  England,  but  *  triumphant '  when  they  glide  by 
the  '  coteaux  of  Seine.'  The  truth  is,  that  the  whole  passage 
seems  to  us  little  more  than  a  piece  of  glittering  nonsense, 
and  quite  unworthy  of  an  author  of  Mr.  Ruskin's  power  and 
reputation. 

No  writer  of  the  present  day  is  in  our  opinion  equal  to  Mr. 
Newman  in  point  of  style  as  a  controversialist.  We  say  nothing 
of  the  weakness  of  his  arguments,  his  prodigious  assumptions, 
and  his  transparent  sophistries  :  but  the  liveliness  of  his  man- 
ner has  an  irresistible  attraction.  A  topic  is  never  dull  in  his 
hands,  however  uninviting  it  may  at  first  sight  appear.  He 
has  nothing  of  the  dry,  stiff,  formal  character  of  a  theological 
disputant.  He  can  make  polemics  almost  as  interesting  as 
a  novel.  Something  of  course  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  has 
thrown  his  later  writings  into  the  popular  form  of  lectures. 
But  it  is  very  observable  how  his  style  has  changed  since  he 
left  the  English  Church.  Formerly,  while  struggling  to  recon- 
cile the  so-called  Church  principles  of  the  party  of  which  he 
was  the  most  eminent  leader  with  the  stubborn  facts  and  real 
character  of  the  Church  of  England,  he,  like  all  the  other 


LITERARY  STYLE. 


195 


writers  of  the  'Tracts  for  the  Times,'  as  if  conscious  of  occu- 
pying a  false  position,  threw  a  misty  haze  over  the  subjects  he 
handled ;  and  in  place  of  plain  av^owal  and  positive  assertion, 
he  used  language,  as  he  himself  tells  us,  '  purposely  guarded,' 
and  full  of  shadowy  hints  and  ambiguous  phraseology.  Noxu 
we  have  no  longer  the  cautious  tone  of  'so  to  speak,'  and  'as 
it  were,'  and  '  it  may  be,'  and  '  in  a  manner,'  by  which  propo- 
sitions were  conveniently  qualified  which  were  thought  to  be 
too  startling  for  acceptance  by  those  to  whom  they  were  ad- 
dressed ;  but  flinging  off  all  such  disguises,  he  speaks  out 
boldly  and  dogmatically,  as  becomes  the  advocate  of  a 
Church  which  claims  to  be  infallible.  He  is  certainly  one  of 
the  least  squeamish  writers  who  ever  employed  the  pen  of  reli- 
gious controversy.  Nothing  comes  amiss  which  can  enliven 
or  enforce  his  argument  :  joke,  anecdote,  sarcasm,  and  pathos, 
are  alike  employed  by  turns  ;  but  the  transition  from  grave  to 
gay  is  generally  managed  with  such  art  that  the  contrast 
which  in  less  skilful  hands  would  be  offensive  serves  only  to 
heighten  the  general  effect.  The  versatility  of  his  powers  is 
shown  by  the  varieties  of  style  which  he  has  at  his  command. 
Compare  the  biting  sarcasm  of  some  of  his  attacks  upon  his 
old  friends,  with  the  pathetic  eloquence  of  the  language  in 
which,  when  it  suits  his  purpose,  he  tries  to  allure  them.  In 
one  passage  he  talks  of  the  authors  of  the  High-Church  move- 
ment of  1833  as  men  who,  having  set  their  fortunes  on  a  cast, 
and  lost,  had  nothing  else  left  for  them  but  to  shut  up  their 
school  and  retire  into  the  country,  '  unless  they  vindicated  the 
right  of  private  judgment,  took  up  some  fancy  religion,  re- 
tailed the  Fathers,  and  jobbed  theology.'  He  says  the  idea 
of  the  Anglo-Catholic  divines  was 

simply  and  absolutely  submission  to  external  authority  ;  to  it  they  appealed,  to  it 
they  betook  themselves  ;  there  they  found  a  haven  of  rest ;  thence  they  looked  out 
upon  the  troubled  surge  of  human  opinion,  and  upon  the  crazy  vessels  which  were 
labouring  without  chart  or  compass  upon  it.  Judge  then  of  their  dismay  when, 
according  to  the  Arabian  tale,  on  their  striking  their  anchors  into  the  supposed 
soil,  lighting  their  fires  on  it,  and  fixing  in  it  the  poles  of  their  tents,  suddenly  their 
island  began  to  move,  to  heave,  to  splash,  to  frisk  to  and  fro,  to  dive,  and  at  last 
to  swim  away,  spouting  out  inhospitable  jets  of  water  upon  the  credulous  mariners 
who  had  made  it  their  home.     And  such  I  suppose  was  the  undeniable  fact. 

And  how  he  mocks  them  in  the  following  sentences : — 

You  have  a  mission  to  teach  the  National  Church,  which  is  to  teach  the 
British  empire,  which  is  to  teach  the  world  ;  you  arc  more  learned  than  Greece  • 

o  2 


196  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

you  are  purer  than  Rome  ;  you  know  better  than  St.  Bernard  ;  you  judge  how 
far  St.  Thomas  was  right,  and  where  he  is  to  be  read  with  caution  or  held  up  to 
blame.  You  can  bring  to  light  juster  views  of  grace,  or  of  penance,  or  of  invoca. 
tion  of  saints  than  St.  Gregory  or  St.  Augustine. 

Qualia  vincant 
Pythagoren  Anytique  reum  doctumque  Platonem. 

This  is  what  you  can  do  ;  yes,  and  when  you  have  done  all,  to  what  have  you 
attained  ?  to  do  just  what  heretics  have  done  before  you,  and  liave  thereby  in- 
curred the  anathema  of  Holy  Church. 

And  yet  he  can  address  the  same  persons  in  the  following 
strain  of  yearning  affection  : — 

O,  is  it  possible  that  there  is  a  resurrection  even  upon  earth  ?  O,  wonderful 
grace,  that  there  should  be  a  joyful  meeting,  after  parting,  before  we  get  to 
heaven  !  It  was  a  weary  time,  that  long  suspense,  when  with  aching  hearts  we 
stood  on  the  brink  of  a  change,  and  it  was  like  death  to  witness  and  to  undergo, 
when  first  one  and  then  another  disappeared  from  the  eyes  of  their  fellows.  And 
then  friends  stood  on  different  sides  of  a  gulf,  and  for  years  knew  nothing  of  each 
other,  or  their  welfare.  And  then  they  fancied  of  each  other  what  was  not,  and 
there  were  misunderstandings  and  jealousies  ;  and  each  saw  the  other  as  his  ghost^ 
only  in  imagination  and  in  memoiy  ;  and  all  was  suspense,  and  anxiety,  and  hope 
delayed,  and  ill-requited  care.  But  now  it  is  all  over  :  the  morning  is  come ;  the 
separate  shall  unite.  I  see  them,  as  if  in  sight  of  me.  Look  at  us,  my  brethren, 
from  our  glorious  land  ;  look  on  us,  radiant  with  the  light  cast  on  us  by  the  saints 
and  angels  who  stand  over  us ;  gaze  on  us  as  you  approach,  and  kindle  as  you 
gaze.  We  died,  you  thought  us  dead  ;  we  live  ;  we  cannot  return  to  you,  you 
must  come  to  us, — and  you  are  coming.  Do  not  your  hearts  beat  as  you  approach 
us  ?  Do  you  not  long  for  the  hour  which  makes  us  one  ?  Do  not  tears  come  into 
your  eyes  at  the  thought  of  the  superabundant  mercy  of  your  God  ? 

Our  space  fails  us,  or  we  might  quote  specimens  of 
excellent  English  composition  from  the  writings  of  the  late 
Archdeacon  Hare,  I\Ir.  Helps,  Mr.  Kingsley,  and  others  ;  but 
WQ.  have  to  perform  a  much  less  agreeable  task,  and  we  turn 
to  a  class  of  authors  who  arc,  we  think,  the  pests  of  literature 
at  the  present  da}'  :  we  mean  those  who  belong  to  the  jocose 
and  funny  school.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  depreciate  wit.  It  is 
the  nectar  of  the  gods  when  it  is  genuine — but  worse  than 
ditch-water  when  it  is  not.  The  attempts  at  wit  and  humour 
of  those  to  whom  we  now  allude  arc  as  unlike  real  wit  and 
humour  as  the  smell  of  an  apothecary's  shop  is  to  the  rich 
odour  of  a  flower-garden.  Instead  of  gems  from  the  mine, 
they  palm  off  upon  us  mock  jewels,  which  serve  only  to  show 
the  poverty  and  vanity  of  the  wearer.  They  forget  that  it  is 
true  of  wit  as  of  poetry,  that  nasciiiiv,  iioji  fit  \  and  we  woukl 
address  each  of  them  in  the  words  of  Mr.[^Carlyle  : — '\\'itty  ; 


LITERARY  STYLE.  '  197 

above  all,  oh,  be  not  witty ;  none  of  us  is  bound  to  be  witty 
under  penalties.'  If  God  has  not  bestowed  on  you  the  gift, 
be  content  without  it,  and  do  not  make  yourself  ridiculous  by 
assuming  its  counterfeit.  Let  the  cow  beware  how  she  imitates 
the  gambols  of  the  kitten.  Sydney  Smith  was  witty  because 
he  could  not  help  being  so.  Wit  was  the  natural  element  of 
his  intellectual  life,  and  his  whole  soul  was  steeped  in  it.  It 
came  forth  strong  and  impetuous,  as  a  river  which  bursts  its 
banks  bears  down  all  opposition,  and  spreads  abroad  an  inun- 
dation. As  a  joker  he  was  the  king  of  men.  And  his  broad, 
vigorous  style  as  a  writer  was  the  counterpart  of  his  sound 
good  sense  and  masculine  understanding.  But  it  is  not  for 
feeble  hands  to  attempt  to  bend  the  bow  of  Ulysses. 

Happily,  however,  in  some  cases  we  have  fair  warning 
given  us  by  the  authors  themselves  as  to  what  we  may  expect, 
and  it  is  our  own  fault  if  we  condemn  ourselves  to  a  perusal 
of  their  productions.  They  hang  out  an  alliterative  title  as  a 
sign-post,  which  sufficiently  indicates  the  kind  of  entertain- 
ment provided  within.  *  From  Piccadilly  to  Pera,'  '  From 
Marylebone  to  Marathon,'  '  The  Bridal  and  the  Bridle,' 
'  Knights  and  their  Days,'  are  all  names  of  books  which  we 
think  we  have  seen  advertised  during  the  last  few  years,  and 
they  have  been  quite  enough  to  prevent  us  from  attempting 
to  cultivate  a  further  acquaintance  with  any  of  them — f(£]uini 
habet  in  cor  mi,  longc  fitgc. 

The  name  of  these  writers  is  Legion,  and  every  week  adds 
to  their  number.  The  nuisance,  in  fact,  has  become  intoler- 
able, and  ought  to  be  put  down.  When  such  things  as  a 
'  Comic  Blackstone '  and  '  Comic  History  of  England '  are 
written,  to  fill  the  minds  of  the  young  with  ludicrous  images 
on  the  most  grave  and  important  subjects,  and,  so  far  as  is 
possible,  sap  the  foundations  of  all  reverence  and  respect  for 
the  traditions  of  the  past,  it  is  time  to  speak  out. 

We  have  not,  however,  space  to  do  justice  to  the  subject, 
and  can  at  present  notice  only  one — and  this  not  by  any 
means  the  worst — of  these  would-be-witty  books,  which  has 
had,  we  believe,  an  extensive  circulation,  and  which  may  be 
taken  as  a  type  of  its  class.  We  allude  to  Colonel  Mundy's 
*  Our  Antipodes.' 

This  work  is  intended  to  be  extremely  smart  and  dashing 


198  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

in  style,  with  a  good  deal  of  rollicking  fun  suited  to  the 
character  of  an  old  campaigner.  We  are  sorry,  however,  to 
be  obliged  to  say  that  the  success  is  not  equal  to  the  endea- 
vour. We  hardly  ever  read  a  work  where  the  attempt  at  wit 
more  uniformly  breaks  down.  It  consists  in  introducing,  in 
inverted  commas,  the  commonest  quotations  from  '  Shak- 
speare,'  the  *  Eton  Latin  Grammar,'  and  such-like  recondite 
books,  and  applying  them  to  whatever  subject  is  on  hand  ;  in 
metamorphosing  Saxon  into  Latinized  words ',  and  in  making 
copious  use  of  a  slang  dictionary. 

Apropos  to  a  story  about  an  auction,  he  says,  '  I  have  a 
little  article  "  to  submit  to  public  notice,"  unique  in  its  way, 
and  "  a  genuine  article." ' 

On  the  ErroU  Plains  are  large  quartz  boulders — 'pebbles 
such  as  Goliah  might  have  slung  at  David,  had  their  duel  been 
conducted  with  "  slings  for  two."  ' 

At  the  Botanic  Gardens  at  Sydney,  on  a  Sunday,  '  the 
shopocracy — a  wealthy  and  comfortable  class — resort  in  con- 
siderable numbers  to  catch  a  puff  "  of  the  briny."  ' 

When  'the  Southerly  Burster'  blows,  'you  must  religiously 
shut  up  shop  until  the  "  chartered  libertine,"  having  scavenged 
the  streets  of  every  particle  of  dust,  has  moderated  his 
wrath.' 

The  pic-nic  basket  '  was  unpacked,  the  lunch  spread  "  sub 
tcgmiiie  gum-tree  ;  "  '  and  the  shepherd  '  sits  all  day  "  sub 
teginiiic  gum-tree." ' 

Colonel  Mundy  saw  some  men  trying  to  catch  and  milk  a 
wild  cow,  and  he  tells  us  that  '  it  was  the  most  flagitious  case 
of  "violence,  with  intent "  to  milk  I  had  ever  met  with.' 

But  there  is  hardly  a  page  in  the  three  volumes  of  '  Our 
Antipodes,'  which  does  not  bristle  with  these  inverted  commas, 
to  mark  what  is  intended  for  some  witty  quotation  ;  and  we 
dare  say  our  readers  are  content  with  the  specimens  we  have 
given. 

We  should  be  sorry  to  include  in  the  same  category  with 
such  writers  Lord  Campbell  as  an  author ;  and  yet  his  '  Lives 
of  the  Lord  Chancellors '  and  '  Lives  of  the  Chief  Justices '  arc 
disfigured  by  witticisms  which  injure  the  effect  of  his  agreeable 
volumes.  They  give  a  jaunty  and  almost  flippant  air  to  works 
which,  dealing  as  they  do  with  grave  personages  and  impor- 


LITERARY  STYLE.  199 

tant  questions,  would  be  much  improved  by  a  judicious  ex- 
purgation. 

For  some  reason  which  it  is  not  very  easy  to  explain,  the 
smart  and  witty  style  seems  to  be  that  which  is  most  in  vogue 
with  Eastern  travellers  ;  and  they  write  such  weary  trash,  that 
we  are  constrained  to  believe  that  although  the  Wise  Men 
came  originally  from  the  East,  very  few  wise  men  or  women 
now  go  there.  The  slang  of  the  metropolis  is  carried  into  the 
streets  of  the  Holy  City,  and  the  solitude  of  the  desert  is 
enlivened  (i")  by  pert  jokes  and  'fast'  opinions.  Nothing  can 
be  more  out  of  place — nothing  in  point  of  style  more  detest- 
able, than  this.  We  pity  the  man  who  can  visit  Jerusalem 
and  the  Dead  Sea,  and  then  sit  down  to  write  about  them 
in  the  same  spirit  and  tone  that  he  would  adopt  if  he  were 
preparing  an  article  for  '  Punch.'  We  think  he  had  much 
better  stay  at  home,  and  endeavour — if  he  has  wit  enough, 
which  we  greatly  doubt— to  enrol  himself  among  the  con- 
tributors to  that  facetious  periodical.  But  let  him  not,  in  the 
vain  hope  of  acquiring  a  reputation  as  'that  clever  young 
man,'  profane  a  subject  which,  from  its  time-hallowed  associa- 
tions, should  be  treated,  if  not  with  reverence,  at  least  with 
respect.  While,  however,  we  deprecate  such  a  style  as  is  too 
often  adopted,  we  are  far  from  washing  to  encourage  the  idea 
that  it  is  safe  to  indulge  in  the  opposite  extreme  of  too  much 
sentiment.  We  have  no  desire  to  see  Eastern  travellers 
writing  in  the  fashion  of  Mr.  Scott,  who  in  '  The  Baltic,  the 
Black  Sea,  and  the  Crimea,'  favours  us  with  passages  like 
the  following  : — 

The  soft  melody  of  the  rippling  waters  and  the  whispering  of  the  breeze  lulled 
us  to  that  sweet  dreamy  state,  when  imagination  in  /icr  fitful  play  skips  from 
radiant  scenes  of  present  bliss  to  joyous  days  of  youthful  years,  and  clothes  each 
thought  in  fancy s  brightest  hues. 

There  arc,  however,  happily,  exceptions  to  the  usual  class 
of  authors  who  write  about  the  East.  One  of  these  is  Lord 
Lindsay,  whose  '  Letters  from  the  Holy  Land,'  are  as  interest- 
ing in  matter  as  they  are  agreeable  in  manner.  And  we  may 
now  add  to  the  small  number  of  books  of  Eastern  travel 
which  can  be  read  not  only  with  instruction  but  with 
pleasure,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Stanley's  '  Sinai  and  Palestine ' — a 
work  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  subject,  and,  we  will  add,  in 


200  £SSAVS   CRrriCAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

every  way  worthy  of  the  reputation  of  its  accomplished  author. 
The  rhetoric  of  Ehot  Warburton's  '  Crescent  and  the  Cross ' 
is  too  flowery,  and  the  brilliancy  of  '  Eothen  '  is  disfigured  by 
the  tone  oi persiflage  which  pervades  the  work. 

In  conclusion,  we  venture  to  offer  a  few  words  of  advice 
and  warning  to  those  who  meditate  authorship.  Those  who 
have  already  adopted  a  vicious  style,  are,  we  fear,  incorrigible  ; 
but  there  are  writers  in  embryo  to  whom  our  suggestions  may 
not  be  addressed  in  vain.  The  first  object  of  every  author 
ought  to  be  to  write  correctly  ;  the  second,  to  write  naturally 
and  unaffectedly  ;  and  the  third,  if  indeed  it  is  not  combined 
in  the  other  two,  to  write  gracefully  and  attractively.  We 
entirely  agree  with  Dugald  Stewart,  that 

the  works  which  continue  to  please  from  age  to  age  are  written  with  perfect  sim  - 
phcity,  while  those  which  captivate  the  multitude  by  a  display  of  meretricious 
ornaments,  if  by  chance  they  should  survive  the  fashions  to  which  they  are  accom- 
modated, remain  only  to  furnish  a  subject  of  ridicule  to  posterity. 

And  this  explains  the  remark  of  Pascal,  that  les  vieilleurs 
livres  so?it  ceux  que  cliaque  lecteiir  croit  quit  aitroit  pit  /aire. 
Let  every  writer  bear  in  mind,  that  the  foundation  and  basis 
of  the  English  language  is  Anglo-Saxon.  Dean  Trench,  who 
is  himself  the  master  of  an  excellent  style,  in  his  '  English, 
Past  and  Present,'  says,  as  in  fact  had  been  substantially 
said  by  Sir  Thomas  Browne  more  than  a  century  and  a  half 
ago  :— 

All  its  joints,  its  whole  articulation,  its  sinews  and  its  ligaments,  the  great  body 
of  articles,  pronouns,  conjunctions,  prepositions,  numerals,  auxiliary  verbs,  all 
smaller  words  which  serve  to  knit  together  and  bind  the  larger  into  sentences  ; 
these,  not  to  speak  of  the  grammatical  structure  of  the  language,  are  exclusively 
Saxon.  The  Latin  may  contribute  its  tale  of  bricks,  yea,  of  goodly  and  polished 
hewn  stones,  to  the  spiritual  building  ;  but  the  mortar,  with  all  that  holds'and 
binds  the  different  parts  of  it  together,  and  constitutes  them  into  a  house,  is  Saxon 
throughout. 

And  we  may  add  that  its  most  forcible  and  expressive 
words  arc  also  Saxon.  So  completely  does  that  element 
pervade  it,  that  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  compose  a 
sentence  of  moderate  length  consisting  solely  of  words  of 
Latin  derivation.  But  there  are  many  which  can  be  rendered 
wholly  in  Anglo-Saxon.  It  would  be  easy  to  make  the 
Lord's  Prayer  entirely,  as  it  is  in  present  use  almost  entirely, 
Anglo-Saxon.     It  consists  of  sixty  words,  and  six  of  these 


LITERARY  STYLE.  '      201 

only  have  a  Latin  root.  But  for  each  of  them,  except  one, 
we  have  an  exact  Saxon  equivalent.  For  *  trespasses,*  we  may 
substitute  '  sins  ; '  for  '  temptation,'  '  trials  ; '  for  '  deliver,' 
'  free  ; '  and  for  *  power,'  '  might.'  Dr.  Trench  proposes  for 
'  glory,'  '  brightness  ; '  but  this  we  think  is  not  a  good  sub- 
stitute, although  we  are  unable  to  suggest  a  better.  No  writer 
was  fonder  of  Latinized  forms  of  words  than  Sir  Thomas 
Browne,  and  yet  he  could  construct  paragraphs  wholly  out  of 
Anglo-Saxon,  as,  for  instance,  the  following,  quoted  by  Dean 
Trench  out  of  several  which  the  knight  of  Norwich  has  given 
as  examples  : — 

The  first  and  foremost  step  to  all  good  works  is  the  dread  and  fear  of  the  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth,  which,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  enlighteneth  the  blindness 
of  our  simple  hearts  to  tread  the  ways  of  wisdom,  and  lead  our  feet  into  the  land 
of  blessing. 

The  great  lesson  to  be  drawn  from  the  fact  that  Anglo- 
Saxon  underlies,  like  original  granite,  all  the  strata  of  the 
English  language,  is,  that  to  write  in  it  is  to  write  for  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  It  is  ///«';- mother-tongue,  strong,  sinewy, 
and  expressive  ;  and  they  cling  to  it  with  a  fondness  which 
no  change  of  usage  can  uproot,  and  no  caprice  of  fashion  can 
destroy.  Just  compare,  in  point  of  force  and  significance,  a 
*  sanguinary  action,'  with  a  '  bloody  deed  ; '  '  eternal  felicity,' 
with  '  everlasting  happiness ; '  and  *  the  exemplar  of  the 
celestials,'  in  the  Rhcmish  version  of  the  Scriptures,  with  '  the 
pattern  of  things  in  the  heavens,'  in  our  own  ;  and  you  will 
feel  at  once  how  the  language  is  weakened  by  such  attempted 
equivalents. 

It  would,  however,  be  a  ridiculous  kind  of  pedantry  to 
insist  that  all  words  of  Greek  or  Latin  origin  should  be 
avoided.  This  would  indeed  be  as  impossible  as  the  converse 
case.  The  necessities  of  science,  philosophy,  and  the  arts, 
and  the  wants  of  an  advanced  civilisation,  absolutely  require 
the  admixture  of  these  elements,  which  contribute  so  much  to 
the  wealth  and  beauty  of  the  language.  Sir  James  Mackin- 
tosh has  pointed  out,  in  his  '  History  of  England,'  that  if  you 
wished  to  express  '  the  penetrability  of  matter '  in  Anglo- 
Saxon,  you  would  be  compelled  to  say  '  the  thoroughfare- 
somcncss  of  stuff.'  But  there  is  a  rule  which  applies  to  the 
selection  of  all  words,  whether  Greek,  Latin,  or  Anglo-Saxon  ; 


202  JSSSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

and  it  is  that  which  is  laid  down  by  the  authors  of  '  Guesses 
at  Truth,'  and  is  supposed  to  be  addressed  to  a  lady : — 

When  you  doubt  between  two  words,  choose  the  plainest,  the  commonest,  the 
most  idiomatic.  Eschew  fine  words  as  you  would  rouge  ;  love  simple  ones  as  you 
would  native  roses  on  your  cheeks. 

Above  all  things,  avoid  the  habit  of  going  out  of  your  way 
to  introduce  long  words  or  periphrastic  expressions,  to  show 
off  either  your  learning  or  your  wit.  In  one  of  his  early 
letters,  Coleridge  playfully  asks  a  friend  to  look  out  for  him 
a  maid-servant  '  scientific  in  vaccimulgence,'  and  says,  '  That 
last  word  is  a  new  one,  but  soft  in  sound  and  full  of  expres- 
sion. Vaccimulgence !  I  am  pleased  with  the  word.'  But 
this  was  only  in  joke.     Chaucer  says,  in  praise  of  his  Virginia, 

that 

No  contrefeted  termes  hadde  she 
To  semen  wise  ; 

and  if  you  wish  to  write  well,  your  English  must  be  genuine, 
and  not  counterfeit.  The  simplest  style  is  generally  the 
safest.  Not  that  we  intend  to  proscribe  the  use  of  metaphor 
or  image  when  it  is  appropriate  to  the  subject ;  and  we  should 
be  sorry  to  act  as  sternly  as  Coleridge's  schoolmaster,  the  Rev. 
James  Bowyer,  who  thus  addressed  his  trembling  pupil: — 
'  Muse,  boy,  muse  1  Your  nurse's  daughter  you  mean  !  Pierian 
spring  .''     Oh,  ay  !  the  cloister-pump,  I  suppose  ! ' 

Do  not  pollute  the  pure  well  of  English  undefiled,  with 
the  rubbish  of  affectation  and  conceit ;  nor  imagine  for  a 
moment  that  liveliness  of  style  consists  in  a  running  fire  of 
jokes,  nor  that  the  want  of  wit  can  be  redeemed  by  vul- 
garity. Remember  what  a  noble  heritage  you  possess  in  the 
English  language,  and  strive  to  be,  in  the  words  of  Dean 
Trench,  'guardians  of  its  purity,  and  not  corruptors  of  it' 
He  cites,  in  proof  of  the  estimation  in  which  it  is  held  by 
those  who  arc  competent  to  appreciate  it,  one  of  the  greatest 
philologers  of  modern  times,  Jacob  Grimm,  who  ascribes  to  it 
'  a  veritable  power  of  expression,  such  as  perhaps  never  stood 
at  the  command  of  any  other  language  of  men,'  and  says — 

In  truth,  the  English  language,  which  by  no  mere  accident  has  produced  and 
upborne  the  greatest  and  most  predominant  poet  of  modem  times,  as  distinguished 
from  the  ancient  classical  poetry  (I  can  of  course  only  mean  Shakspcare),  may  with 
all  right  l)c  called  a  world-language,  and,  like  the  English  people,  appears  destined 


LITERARY  STYLE.  203 

hereafter  to  prevail  with  a  sway,  more  extensive  even  than  its  present,  over  all  the 
portions  of  the  globe  ;  for  in  wealth,  good  sense,  and  closeness  of  structure,  no 
other  of  the  languages  at  this  day  spoken  deserves  to  be  compared  with  it — not 
even  our  German,  which  is  torn  even  as  Me  are  torn,  and  must  first  rid  itself  of 
many  defects  before  it  can  enter  boldly  into  the  lists  as  a  competitor  with  the 
English. 

Surely  this  is  a  language  which  is  worth  preserving  in  its 
purity,  which  is  worth  weaving  into  textures  of  beauty,  and 
which  ought  not  to  be  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
literary  slang. 


204         jESSAVS   critical   AND    NARRATIVE. 


PROGRESS  OF  LEGAL    REFORM} 

'Edinburgh  Review,' January,  i860. 

Upon  October  26,  1859,  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh  received 
Lord  Brougham  at  a  pubHc  banquet  in  the  music-hall  of  this 
city,  where  every  man  most  eminent  at  the  present  time  on 
the  Bench  and  at  the  Bar  of  Scotland — every  man  most  dis- 
tinguished in  science,  in  literature,  or  by  public  services — had 
spontaneously  assembled  to  pay  a  mark  of  respect  to  one 
whose  long  life  and  varied  labours  have  embraced  almost  all 
the  objects  which  other  men  have,  in  their  several  vocations, 
pursued,  and  whose  glory  it  has  been  to  surpass  the  efforts  of 
most  of  his  contemporaries.  Two  days  later  the  Academic 
Body  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  convened  for  the  first 
time  to  exercise  its  powers  under  the  new  statute,  displayed 
its  high  sense  of  the  importance  of  this  trust,  and  its  sound 
judgment  of  the  real  interests  of  the  University,  by  conferring 
upon  Lord  Brougham,  by  a  large  majority,  the  office  and 
dignity  of  Chancellor  of  this  learned  foundation.  Fortunately 
for  Edinburgh,  a  man  was  to  be  found  for  this  post,  high  in 
rank  and  in  fame — the  rewards  of  his  own  genius — who  w'as 
born  in  St.  Andrew's  Square  ;  who  had  sat  on  the  benches  of 
the  High  School ;  who  had  followed  the  courses  of  this  very 
University  ;  Avho  had  been  admitted,  some  sixty  years  ago,  an 
Advocate  of  the  Bar  of  Scotland  ;  who  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  '  Edinburgh  Review  ; '  \\\\o  has  been  one  of  the  leading 
contributors  to  that  journal  during  no  inconsiderable  portion 

'  Lord  Broughani's  Acts  and  Bills  tJw  Amendment   of  the  Law.     By  Sir 

from  \'ii\  to  the  present  time,  nmu  frsi  John  KAROLtY-WjLMOT,  Bart.     Lon- 

collected  and  arranged,  -with  an  Analy-  don  :   1857. 
Heal  Review,  shelving  their  results  upon 


PROGRESS   OF  LEGAL   REFORM.  205 

of  its  existence  ;  and  who  still  retains  in  an  advanced  age, 
the  power  and  the  will  to  promote  those  reforms  in  the  higher 
studies  of  Scotland,  which  are  of  such  vital  importance  to  the 
people  of  this  part  of  Great  Britain.  We  cannot  deny  our- 
selves the  pleasure  of  putting  on  record  these  remarkable  occur- 
rences, because  they  are  true  indications  of  the  veneration  and 
regard  of  the  men  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  graduates  of  her 
University  for  Lord  Brougham.  The  '  Edinburgh  Review '  was 
commenced  by  Henry  Brougham  and  his  contemporaries, 
now  somewhat  more  than  fifty-seven  years  ago ;  it  has  adhered 
to  its  principles  with  unabated  fidelity  ;  and  though  many  of 
those  who  were  once  foremost  in  the  struggle  have  done  their 
work  and  are  at  rest,  Lord  Brougham  has  happily  lived  to 
witness  the  general  acceptance  and  ascendancy  of  those 
liberal  opinions  and  enlarged  views  as  to  Law  Reform  for 
which  half  a  century  ago  it  was  almost  hopeless  to 
contend. 

It  was  obsen^ed  by  an  eminent  Judge  at  the  Edinburgh 
banquet,  that  whatever  may  be  Lord  Brougham's  other  claims 
to  distinction,  none  will  be  more  lasting  than  those  which  he 
has  rendered  to  his  own  profession  and  to  the  country  by  his 
judicial  decisions  and  by  his  successful  exertions  for  the  reform 
of  the  law.  To  that  object  especially  one  of  his  greatest 
orations  was  directed,  and,  unlike  many  of  the  brilliant 
displays  of  Parliamentary  oratory,  that  speech  has  fulfilled 
much  of  its  promise.  It  has  been  followed  by  constant 
efforts  in  every  branch  of  the  law  to  effect  improvements, 
to  cut  away  what  was  antiquated  and  onerous,  and  to  give 
greater  efficiency,  cheapness,  and  despatch  to  the  administra- 
tion of  justice. 

The  result  of  this  sleepless  activity  has  been  the  enactment 
by  the  Legislature  of  a  great  number  of  statutes  ;  which 
together  with  many  Bills  proposed  by  Lord  Brougham,  but 
not  assented  to  by  Parliament,  have  been  collected  in  a  volume 
consisting  of  nearly  nine  hundred  pages,  by  Sir  John  Eardley- 
Wilmot,  and  form  a  noble  monument  of  the  unwearied  energy 
and  patriotic  devotion  of  one  man  to  the  cause  of  Law  Reform. 
The  work  before  us  must  have  been,  as  indeed  the  able  ana- 
lytical review  at  the  beginning  shows  that  it  was,  a  labour  of 
love  ;    for  no  hope  of  pecuniary  remuneration    could   have 


2o6  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

induced  any  editor  to  incur  the  trouble  and  expense  of  pre- 
paring and  publishing  a  volume  so  little  likely  to  attract 
ordinary  readers.  And  yet  we  hardly  know  a  more  instructive 
work.  There  is  an  old  maxim,  pluriince leges pcssivia  rcspiiblica, 
and  in  these  Acts  and  Bills  we  shall  find  the  most  cogent 
proof  of  the  existence  and  nature  of  the  mischiefs  deeply  im- 
bedded in  our  legal  system,  which  they  were  intended  to 
remedy. 

But  in  order  to  estimate  at  their  true  value  the  results,  we 
must  know  something  of  the  evils  that  had  to  be  overcome.  It 
is  often  difficult  to  realise  a  past  state  of  things,  even  where 
the  change  has  taken  place  in  our  own  recollection.  When  a 
nest  of  ugly  old  houses  has  been  pulled  down,  and  replaced  by 
a  stately  mansion,  or  a  wide  and  commodious  street,  it  is  not 
easy  to  picture  to  oneself  the  nuisance  as  it  formerly  existed. 
Few  remember  the  Rookery  of  St.  Giles',  the  site  of  which  is 
now  occupied  by  lofty  buildings  and  spacious  shops,  and  yet  it 
stood  there,  in  all  its  squalidness  and  filth,  only  a  few  years 
ago.  In  like  manner,  we  can  hardly  imagine  ourselves  living 
at  a  time  when  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England  could  rise 
in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  oppose  a  Bill  for 
abolishing  the  punishment  of  death  in  cases  of  stealing  above 
the  value  of  five  shillings,  in  the  following  words  : — 

My  Lords,  if  we  suffer  this  Bill  to  pass,  we  shall  not  know  where  to  stand, 
we  shall  not  know  whether  we  are  on  our  heads  or  our  feet.  If  you  repeal  the 
Act,  which  inflicts  the  penalty  of  death  for  stealing  to  the  value  of  five  shillings  in 
a  shop,  you  will  be  called  upon  next  year  to  repeal  a  law  which  prescribes  the 
penalty  of  death  for  stealing  five  shillings  in  a  dwelling-house,  there  being  no 
person  therein, — a  law,  your  lordships  must  know,  on  the  severity  of  which  and 
the  application  of  it,  stands  the  security  of  every  poor  cottager  who  goes  out  to  his 
daily  labour. 

And  yet  this  was  the  language  of  Lord  Ellenborough  in 
1 8 10.  Still  less  can  we  bring  ourselves  to  believe,  that  v.-ithin 
the  recollection  of  many  persons  now  alive,  a  wretched  woman, 
whose  children  were  starving,  and  who  entered  a  shop  in  Lud- 
gate  Hill,  and  secreted  under  her  dress  a  piece  of  silk,  which 
she  dropped  on  the  ground  before  she  reached  the  door,  was 
tried  for  the  offence  and  hanged !  We  have  seen  one  of  the 
greatest  statesmen  of  the  present  day  shed  tears  when  this 
anecdote  was  told  him.  If  however  we  wish  to  place  ourselves 
in  the  right  point  of  view  for  appreciating  the  labours  of  such  a 


PROGRESS   OF  LEGAL  REFORM.  207 

pioneer  as  Lord  Iirougham,  Vv'e  must  transport  ourselves  in 
imagination  back  a  few  years,  and  we  will  take  a  familiar  case 
to  illustrate  the  state  of  the  law  as  it  then  stood. 

Suppose  an  action  brought  against  a  man  upon  a  demand 
which  lie  has  satisfied  by  payment,  but  of  this  fact,  owing  to 
the  loss  of  the  receipt  or  otherwise,  he  has  no  other  evidence 
than  the  testimony  of  himself  and  one  other  witness.  In  the 
first  place,  the  debt  being  sworn  against  him,  he  has  to  find 
bail,  and  being  unable  to  do  this,  he  is  thrown  into  prison 
upon  what  is  called  mesne  process.  This  is  not  very  likely  to 
facilitate  his  means  of  defence,  but  let  that  pass.  Written 
pleadings  are  prepared,  in  which  his  counsel  makes  a  slijD, 
undiscovered  at  the  time,  and  the  cause  comes  on  for  trial. 
He  is  not  permitted  to  go  into  the  witness  box  and  state  upon 
his  oath  that  he  has  discharged  the  claim  by  payment.  And 
it  happens  that  his  witness  has  become  security  for  him,  and  is 
thus  interested  in  the  result  of  the  trial  ;  he  therefore  cannot 
be  examined.  By  some  miraculous  chance,  however,  the  case 
of  the  plaintiff  breaks  down,  and  the  verdict  is  for  the  defen- 
dant. By  this  time,  however,  the  slip  of  the  pleader  has  been 
discovered,  and  the  plaintiff  goes  into  Court  with  the  modest 
demand,  that  the  verdict  for  his  opponent  shall  be  set  aside, 
and  that  he  shall  be  permitted  to  sign  judgment  against  him 
non  obstante  veredieto.  To  this  the  Court,  after  some  edifying 
remarks  to  the  effect  that  in  law  technicalities  must  be  upheld, 
and  that  '  hard  cases  make  bad  law,'  accedes,  and  the  unfor- 
tunate debtor  is  now  taken  in  execution,  and  remains  in  prison 
at  the  suit  of  his  creditor,  until,  if  the  debt  exceeds  300/.,  he 
either  discharges  it  by  payment,  or  dies. 

Or  let  us  suppose  the  same  person  charged  with  a  felony 
and  put  upon  his  trial.  He  employs  counsel  to  defend  him, 
and  we  will  assume  that  the  case  is  one  that  requires  a  skilful 
analysis  of  complicated  facts,  and  a  careful  review  of  conflict- 
ing evidence.  But  his  counsel  cannot  open  his  lips  except  to 
argue  a  point  of  law,  and  the  miserable  spectacle  is  exhibited 
of  a  man,  who  is  perhaps  innocent,  convicted,  because  he  has 
not  ability  to  grapple  with  the  case  for  the  prosecution  ;  while 
beside  him  sits  one,  who  in  mockery  is  called  his  advocate, 
and  who  could  demonstrate  the  insufficiency  of  the  evidence 
against  him,  but  who  cannot  address  the  jury  on  his  behalf 


rcS  ASSAYS    CRITICAL  AXD  NARRATIVE. 

and  must  confine  himself  to  an  attempt  to  pick  some  legal 
flaw  in  the  prosecution  on  which  to  rest  his  hopes  of  an  ac- 
quittal.^ Is  it  not  wonderful  that  such  an  anomaly — rather 
let  us  say  such  a  cr}-ing  injustice — should  have  endured  so 
long  ?  and  yet  we  know  that  men  of  the  most  humane  minds 
and  gifted  intellects  v.ere  opposed  to  a  change  of  the  law  in 
this  respect ;  and  we  well  remember  the  strong  terms  of  repro- 
bation in  which  a  learned  and  most  amiable  judge,  now  no 
more,  spoke  to  us  of  the  Prisoner's  Counsel  Bill,  which  he 
regarded  as  a  dangerous  innovation. 

On  February  7,  1828,  Lord  (then  Mr.)  Brougham  made  his 
great  speech  on  Law  Reform.  It  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
on  record — not  merely  for  the  giant  grasp  he  took  of  his  com- 
plicated and  difficult  subject,  but  still  more  for  the  prophetic 
prescience  with  which  he  denounced  abuses  which  have  since 
been  corrected,  and  suggested  remedies  which  have  since  been 
applied.  To  few  men  has  been  granted  so  vast  a  success,  and 
so  ample  a  reward  in  the  field  of  legal  improvement.  He 
has  not  only  stood  on  the  top  of  Pisgah  and  surveyed  the 
promised  land,  but  he  has  been  permitted  to  live  until  those 
for  whom  he  laboured  have  entered  in  and  taken  possession. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  in  that  speech  Lord  Brougham 
was  in  advance  of  his  age  by  a  quarter  of  a  centurj-,  and 
awakened  the  mind  of  his  hearers  to  the  existence  of  a  state 
of  things  which  would  now  be  deemed  intolerable,  but  which 
was  then  clung  to  with  deep-rooted  prejudice  on  the  part  of 
la^^yers,  and  regarded  with  timid  acquiescence  by  the  public. 
But  to  show  what  he  accomplished,  we  cannot  do  better  than 
quote  a  passage  from  another  speech  delivered  in  1849,  when, 
with  pardonable  pride,  he  thus  referred  to  his  achievements  in 
the  great  cause  to  which  he  had  devoted  so  large  a  portion 
of  his  life. 

Of  above  seventy  defects  whereof  I  complained  on  that  occasion,  about  sLxty 
have  since  been  removed  ;  nor  were  those  slight  defects,  or  those  changes  small 
innovations.  I  complained  that  party  prevailed  over  the  selection  of  judges  ;  and 
of  late  years,  both  while  I  held  the  Great  Seal,  and  in  the  time  of  my  noble  and 

'  It  has  been  stated  that  the  con-  the  trial  of  Patch  for  murder,    which 

version  of  Lord  Lyndhurst  from  being  convinced  him  how  hopeless   must  be 

the  opponent  to  becoming  the  suppor-  the  position  of  a  prisoner  who  had  to 

ter  of  the  Prisoner's  Counsel  Bill,  was  reply  himself  to  such  an  address. — See 

owing  to  his  ha^-ing  perused  the  masterly  'Quarterly   Re\-iew'   for  April,   1S59, 

opening  speech  of  Sir  W.   Garrow,  in  P-  515- 


PROGRESS   OF  LEGAL   REFORM.  209 

learned  friend  (Lord  Lyndluirst)  who  succeeded  me,  as  well  as  while  my  noble 
friend  on  the  woolsack  (Lord  Cottenham)  has  held  office,  no  party  considerations 
have  been  allowed  to  influence  the  selection  of  those  high  functionaries,  any  more 
than  Sir  Robert  Peel  had,  previously  to  1S28,  been  swayed  by  party  considera- 
tions in  naming  the  judges  of  Scotland.     I  complained  of  the  Welsh  judicature  ; 
this  has  since  been  abolished,  and  the  Principality  subjected,  as  IJ  recommended, 
to  the  same  tribunals  with  the  rest  of  the  realm.      I  complained  of  the  Court  of 
Delegates  ;  it  \\a3  abolished  by  my  Act  of  1833  :  of  the  judicial  system  prevailing 
in  the  Pri\y  Council  ;  it  was  reformed  by  the  same  statute,  and  the  Judicial  Com- 
mittee substituted  for  the  trial  of  all  appeals,  both  from  the  Consistorial  Courts,  the 
Court  of  Admiralty,  and  all  our  various  and  extensive  foreign  possessions.    I  com- 
plained of  real  actions,  including  fines  and  recoveries.     Real  actions,  with  the 
single  exception  of  Quare  Impedit,  are  swept  away,  and  fines  and  recoveries  alto- 
gether.    I  complained  of  many  defects  and  anomalies  in  the  Law  of  Evidence  : 
these  defects  have  been  almost  entirely  removed  by  the  admirable  Act  of  Lord 
Denman  (6  &  7  Vict.  c.  85),  though  one  important  step  in  the  same  direction  yet 
remains  to  be  taken  [taken  in  1851  by  the  Act  14  &  15  Vict.  c.  99]  by  examining 
parties  themselves.     I  complained  of  the  period  of  Limitation,  especially  of  the 
suffering  of  it  to  be  interrupted  by  the  Duration  of  Estates  Tail,   and  of  the 
immunity  from  all  limitation  enjoyed  by  Church   Rights.     The  Acts  of  Lord 
Tenterden  in  1829  and  1832  (2  &  3  \Vm.   IV.   c.   71  ;  and  2  &  3  \Vm.    IV.  c. 
100),  and  those  to  which  my  noble  friend  (Lord  Lyndhurst)  and  I  obtained  the 
concurrence  of  Parliament  in  1833,  have  removed  those  defects,  so  that  now  the 
opprobrium  of  the  law  exists  no  longer,  by  which  rights  might  formerly  have  been 
enjoyed,  as  against  the  Church  for  centuries,  without  the  least  security  to  the  pos- 
sessor, and  by  which  in  one  case  a  large  estate  in  the  north,  after  being  possessed 
for  above  a  century  and  a  half,  and  being  made  the  subject  of  settlement,  and  sale, 
and  mortgage  over  and  over  again,  was  found  to  be  the  property  of  a  mere  stranger, 
in  consequence  of  estates  tail  not  having  been  determined,  and  no  adverse  posses- 
sion having  been  had  as  against  the  reversioner.     I  complained  that  the  Statute 
of  Frauds  had  not  been  united  with  that  of  Limitations,  and  noM'  writing  is  requi- 
site to  prevent  the  time  from  nmning.     I  had  complained  loudly  of  the  impedi- 
ments to  settlement  by  arbitration  ;  this  defect  has  been  removed  by  the  Act  of 
1833,  as  well  as  many  other  anomalies  in  our  system  of  pleading,  on  which  I  had 
dwelt  particularly  in  1828.     The  cruel  and  unjust,  as  well  as  impolitic  Law  of 
Arrest  for  Debt,  of  which  I  had  also  complained,  has  been  entirely  changed. 
Arrest  on  Mesne  Process  was  abolished  by  my  noble  friend  on  the  woolsack  (Lord 
Cottenham)  in  1837,  and  my  Acts  of  1844,  1845,  have  abolished  arrest  altogether; — 
Acts  framed  upon  the  principle  which  I  propounded  in  1828,  that  debtors  should 
only  be  imprisoned  for  the  crime  of  fraud,  or  gross  extravagance,  or  for  refusing  to 
give  up  their  property  to  their  creditors. 

This  was  in  1848  ;  but  since  then  a  long  Hst  must  be  added 
of  Acts  which  acknowledge  Lord  Brougham  as  their  author. 
We  may  mention  the  Bankruptcy  Consolidation  Act,  passed 
in  1849,  containing  upwards  of  270  sections,  and  codifying 
that  complicated  branch  of  law  ;  the  Trustee  Act  in  1850,  by 
which  the  Court  of  Chancery  is  empowered  to  deal  with  the 
property  of  lunatic  trustees  and  mortgagees,  and  to  make 
orders  in  various  cases  of  trust  estates  ;  and,  in  the  same  year, 
the  Acts  of  Parliament  Abbreviation  Bill.     The  utility  of  this 

P 


2IO  £SSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

last  measure  can  only  be  appreciated  by  those  whose  dreary 
duty  it  is  to  wade  through  the  mass  of  useless  verbiage  which 
used  to  disfigure  previous  Acts  ;  and  the  number  of  these  may 
be  imagined  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  year   1836  alone,  191 
Private  Acts  passed  the  Legislature,  comprising  about  9,000 
folios.     But  we  willingly  spare  our  readers  the  infliction  of 
specimens  of  the  repetitions,  and  involutions,  and  complica- 
tions which  flourish  there  in  full  luxuriance.     In  1851  three 
of  Lord  Brougham's  Acts  were  passed — two  for  improving 
the  Patent  Law,  and  one  for  making  parties  to  suits  admissible 
as  witnesses.     Next  year,  1852,  he  carried  the  Extension  of 
Copyhold  Enfranchisement  Act  and  the  Act  to  shorten  the 
time  for  assembling  Parliament  after  a  dissolution,  although, 
perhaps,  this  last  can  hardly  be  classed  amongst  legal  reforms. 
In  1852  we  may  mention  an  Act  to  abolish  Masters  in  Chan- 
cery, and  in  1853  an  Act  whereby  the  husbands  and  "wives  of 
parties  to  a  cause  were  rendered   admissible    as  witnesses, 
except  in  criminal  proceedings  or  cases  of  adultery.     Neither 
husband   nor  wife,  however,  was  to  be  compelled  to  disclose 
any  communications  made  by  the  one  to  the  other  during  the 
marriage.     In  1854  he  carried  an  Act  providing  an  appeal  in 
cases  tried  before  the  County  Courts;  and  in   1855  an  Act 
for  the  summary  trial  of  ofl"enders,  which  was  compounded  of 
two  Bills  introduced  into  the  House  of  Lords  in  that  session, 
the  one  by  Lord  Brougham  and   the  other  by  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Cranworth.    By  this  salutary  measure  a  prisoner  charged 
with  simple  larceny  or  stealing  from  the  person  may,  if  he 
chooses  to  plead  guilty  before  two  magistrates,  be  summarily 
convicted  by  them,  and  thus  escape  the  hardship  of  a  long 
imprisonment  beforehand,  which,  in  most  cases,  would  be  his 
lot  if  he  were  committed  for  trial  at  the  sessions  or  assizes. 

In  the  above  review  we  have  omitted  to  mention  the  Cen- 
tral Criminal  Court  Act,  which  was  carried  without  opposition 
by  Lord  Brougham  when  he  was  Lord  Chancellor,  in  1834; 
and  in  the  enumeration  we  have  only  included  those  Acts  that 
directly  owe  their  parentage  to  him,  but  have  not  noticed 
such  as  were  carried  by  others,  although  the  suggestion  and 
previous  advocacy  of  them  were  due  to  him.  Amongst  these 
was  the  Local  Courts  Act  (9  &  10  Vict.  c.  95)  in  1846,  the 
subject  of  which  was   brought  by  him  before  the  House  of 


PROGRESS   OF  LEGAL  REFORM.  211 

Commons  in  an  elaborate  speech  in  April,  1830,  when  he  ob- 
tained leave  to  introduce  a  Bill  for  their  establishment.  The 
Act,  as  passed,  however,  omitted  some  portions  of  Lord 
Brougham's  Bill — namely,  those  which  gave  to  the  local  courts 
jurisdiction  in  equity  and  bankruptcy,  and  constituted  them 
courts  of  reconcilement,  while  it  reduced  the  amount  to  be 
sued  for  from  100/.  to  20/.  in  the  ordinary  jurisdiction.  And 
we  ought  not  to  pass  over  in  silence  the  Common  Law  Pro- 
cedure Acts  of  1852  and  1854,  two  of  the  most  useful  in  the 
Statute  Book,  which  swept  away  the  iniquities  of  special  plead- 
ing and  other  absurd  technicalities  that  were  the  disgrace  of 
the  English  law.  Many  of  the  amendments  introduced  by 
these  two  Acts  had  been  foreshadowed  by  Lord  Brougham  in 
his  speech  in  1828. 

But  to  show  that,  while  he  struck  with  an  unsparing  hand 
at  the  abuses  of  the  law,  he  was  actuated  by  no  wish  to  injure 
in  the  slightest  degree  the  profession  of  which  he  was  a  bril- 
liant ornament,  we  will  quote  a  passage  from  that  speech, 
which  deserves  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  and  which  at 
the  present  day  has  peculiar  import  and  significancy,  as  is  too 
well  known  at  the  Bar.  We  especially  commend  it  to  the 
attention  of  those  upon  whom  rests  the  responsibility  of  ap- 
pointing to  high  places  in  the  law.  Amongst  other  incon- 
veniences of  the  October  sittings  which  then  existed,  he 
alluded  to  the  fact  of  which  perhaps  little  account  would  now 
be  taken,  that  the  barristers  who  went  the  Northern  Circuit 
were  thereby  greatly  curtailed  of  their  vacation,  and  he  said — ■ 

It  is  the  most  foolish  of  vulgai'isms  to  suppose  that  by  how  much  the  more  you 
vex  and  harass  the  professors  of  the  law,  by  so  much  the  more  you  benefit  tlie 
country.  The  fact  is  quite  the  reverse  ;  for  by  these  means  you  make  inferior 
men,  both  in  rank  and  feelings  and  accomplishments,  alone  follow  that  profession 
out  of  which  the  Judges  of  the  Court  must  be  appointed.  I  should  rather  say  that 
by  how  much  the  more  you  surround  this  renowned  profession  with  difficulties  and 
impediments  calculated  only  to  make  it  eligible  to  persons  of  mere  ordinary  educa- 
tion and  mere  habits  of  drudgery,  who  otherwise  would  find  their  way  to  employ- 
ment in  tradesmen's  shops  or  at  best  in  merchants'  counting-houses,  by  so  much  the 
more  you  close  it  upon  men  of  talent  and  respectability,  and  prevent  it  from  being 
the  resort  of  genius  and  liberal  accomplishments. 

We  of  course  cannot,  within  the  brief  limits  of  an  article 
like  this,  attempt  to  analyse  the  mass  of  legislation  embraced 
by  the  Acts  we  have  enumerated,  but  we  will  say  a  few  words 
on  the  subject  of  the  Law  of  Evidence  ;  for  no  part  of  the 


212  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

administration  of  justice  is  more  important,  or  requires  more 
watchful  attention  than  this.  It  would  be  difficult  to  exag- 
gerate the  mischiefs  that  must  ensue  if  that  law  is  based  on 
erroneous  principles  or  is  defective  in  its  application.  We 
need  only  look  across  the  Channel  and  take  as  an  example 
the  trial  of  the  Lemoines,  mother  and  daughter,  for  infanti- 
cide, to  see  the  pitiable  result  of  allowing  a  judge  to  interro- 
gate a  prisoner  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  evidence  of  guilt, 
by  which  means  he  is  converted  into  an  advocate,  and  the 
equilibrium  of  justice  is  destroyed.  But  what  avails  it  if  the 
judge  is  impartial  and  upright,  the  jury  honest  and  intelli- 
gent, and  the  cause  good,  if  it  cannot  be  legally  proved  }  The 
rights  of  parties  are  in  danger  of  being  shipwrecked  if  evidence 
is  too  loosely  admitted  or  too  rigidly  excluded.  But  of  the 
first  of  these  two  evils  the  boldest  accuser  of  our  system  of 
jurisprudence  will  readily  allow  that  it  stands  clear.  It  has 
always  been  a  distinctive  characteristic  of  the  English  law  that 
it  requires  a  greater  degree  of  strictness  of  proof  than  is  known 
in  the  procedure  of  any  other  civilised  nation  in  the  world. 
And  of  the  reason  of  some  of  its  rules  in  this  respect  it  is 
difficult  to  give  an  explanation,  and  still  more  to  justify  them 
to  a  non-professional  mind.  We  have  often  thought  how 
bewildered  the  audience  in  our  Courts  must  be,  at  hearing 
questions  objected  to  and  disallowed  which  seem  the  most 
natural  and  obvious  to  ask ;  and  at  seeing  documents  rejected 
which,  as  both  sides  admit,  contain  the  most  important  evi- 
dence bearing  upon  the  fact  in  dispute,  but  which,  owing  to 
some  mysterious  and  (to  them)  unintelligible  technicality, 
neither  the  judge  nor  the  jury  is  allowed  to  look  at.  We  are 
far  from  saying  that  sound  and  logical  reasons  cannot  be  given 
for  this,  but  it  would  be  foreign  to  our  purpose  to  discuss  the 
question  here.  We  will  confine  ourselves  to  a  canon  of  the 
law  of  evidence  which  existed  until  a  very  few  years  back  in 
England,  and  which  we  verily  believe  did  more  to  produce 
wrong  verdicts  and  defeat  the  rights  of  parties  than  any  rule 
• — except  perhaps  that  of  the  civil  law,  which  required  two 
witnesses  at  least  to  prove  a  fact — in  the  jurisprudence  of  any 
other  nation  ;  and  we  say  this  with  a  full  consciousness  of  the 
extreme  laxity  of  the  rules  of  evidence  in  France  and  Ger- 
many, and  a  full  knowledge  of  the  danger  of  mistake  to  which 


PROGRESS   OF  LEGAL  REFORM.  213 

such  laxity  leads.  We  allude  to  the  rule  which  prevented  a 
person  from  giving  evidence  at  a  trial,  who  had  the  smallest 
pecuniary  interest  in  the  subject  matter  in  dispute.  The  kind 
of  interest  which  excluded  testimony  was  defined  by  Chief 
Baron  Gilbert  to  be  '  where  there  is  a  certain  benefit  or  ad- 
vantage to  the  witness  attending  the  consequence  of  the  cause 
either  way.'  No  matter  how  unimpeachable  his  character  and 
respectable  his  station,  if  it  could  be  shown  that  he  had  an 
interest  to  the  extent  of  sixpence  in  the  issue  of  the  trial,  his 
lips  were  closed  and  his  evidence  was  inadmissible.  On  one 
occasion  Lord  Mansfield  said,  '  The  old  cases  on  the  compe- 
tency of  witnesses  have  gone  upon  very  subtle  ground.  But  of 
late  years  the  Courts  have  endeavoured,  as  far  as  possible, 
C07isistently  with  the  authorities,  to  let  the  objection  go  to  the 
credit  rather  than  to  the  competency  of  a  witness.'  This  was 
in  17S6  ;  but  the  endeavour  of  the  Courts  was  not  very  suc- 
cessful, and  the  '  authorities ' — those  sons  of  Zeruiah — were 
too  strong  for  them.^  It  would  be  endless,  and  happily  now 
it  is  useless,  to  multiply  examples,  but  we  may  mention  that 
after  this  dictum  of  Lord  Mansfield  it  was  decided  that,  in  an 
action  against  a  master  for  the  negligence  of  his  servant,  the 
servant  was  not  a  competent  witness  to  disprove  his  own 
negligence,  on  the  ground  that  the  verdict  might  be  given  in 
evidence  in  a  subsequent  action  by  the  master  against  the 
servant,  to  show  the  amount  of  damages  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  pay  in  the  former  action.  So  a  person  in  any  degree 
liable  to  the  costs  of  a  cause  was  held  not  to  be  a  competent 
witness.  The  mode  of  taking  the  objection  was  by  what  was 
called  examining  the  witness  on  the  voii-e  dire,  that  is,  asking 
him  on  his  oath,  in  which  he  swore  to  speak  the  truth,  whether 
he  was  interested  or  not. 

But  the  law  on  the  subject  was  illogical  and  inconsistent. 
For  it  professed  to  exclude  the  evidence  because  the  party 
tendering  it  might  be  supposed  to  be  under  a  bias  towards  the 
side  for  which  he  appeared,  but  it  took  no  account  of  the  in- 

'  Even  now  attesting  witnesses  to  will.     Perhaps,  however,  this  is  rather 

a  will  are  by  express  statute  not  allowed  an  Irish  way  of  putting  it — for  if  the 

to  take  an  interest  under  the  will.    This  evidence  were  excluded  the  will  could 

is  certainly  better  than  to  permit  them  not  be  proved,  and  therefore  they  must 

to  retain  their  legacies  and  exclude  their  lose  their  legacies  which  depend  upon 

testimony  in  an  attempt  to  prove  the  the  will. 


214  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

terest  arising  from  close  relationship,  except  in  the  single  case 
of  husband  and  wife.  A  father  might  give  evidence  for  a  son, 
or  a  son  for  a  father,  but  if  the  one  had  incurred  the  slightest 
pecuniary  obligation  for  the  other  which  could  in  any  way  be 
affected  by  the  verdict,  he  could  not  be  heard,  except,  indeed, 
in  the  unlikely  case  where  his  evidence  would  tend  to  fix  his 
own  liability.^ 

Of  course,  as  a  direct  consequence  of  this  rule — and  indeed 
a  fortiori, — the  parties  to  a  cause  could  not  give  evidence  on 
their  own  behalf,  and,  therefore,  when  the  transaction  was 
such  as  could  not  be  proved  by  a  third  person  or  by  some 
document,  a  party  who  had  nothing  but  his  own  testimony  to 
rely  upon  necessarily  failed.  We  remember  hearing  a  story 
of  an  eminent  advocate  who  employed  a  chimney  sweeper  to 
rectify  a  particular  chimney  that  smoked,  and  afterwards 
asked  him  for  what  sum  he  would  undertake  to  put  right  all 
the  [chimneys  in  the  house.  The  sweep  answered  that  his 
charge  would  be  a  guinea  a  chimney,  on  which  the  lawyer 
told  him,  no  one  else  being  present,  that  he  might  do  it  for 
that  sum.  Soon  afterwards  a  bill  was  sent  in  claiming  seventy 
guineas  for  the  work  done,  and  as  the  barrister  had  no  means 
of  proving  what  the  contract  was  except  by  his  own  state- 
ment, which  as  the  law  then  stood  was  inadmissible,  and  he 
knew  that  Sooty  would  bring  a  host  of  sweeps  to  swear  that 
the  bill  was  a  reasonable  one,  he  thought  that  the  wisest 
course  was  to  submit  at  once,  and  he  paid  the  demand. 

It  must,  however,  in  candour  be  admitted  that  those  who 
argued  against  the  proposed  change  and  upheld  the  old  maxim 
of  our  law,  that  nono  debet  testari  in  proprid  catisd,  made  a 
very  plausible  case.  They  said  that  the  interest  was  here  too 
great  and  the  temptation  to  perjury  too  strong.  But  we  think 
it  might  be  fairly  replied  that  a  rule  of  law,  whereby  honest 
men  are  defrauded  of  their  rights,  ought  not  to  be  permitted 
to  continue  because  dishonest  men  may  avail  themselves  of 
its  abrogation  for  the  purpose  of  perjury.  And  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  fear  of  this  consequence  which  influenced 
so  many  in  their  opposition  to  a  change  in  the  law  has  been 
justified  by  the   event.     Lord   Brougham   of  course  did   not 

Under  the  Civil  Law  tlie  nile  was,      se  nee  volentes  ad  testivtoninin  admitteiuli 
that  Parentcs  et  liberi  invicem  adversus     sunt.     Cod.  iv.  tit.  20.  s.  6. 


PROGRESS   OF  LEGAL  REFORM.  215 

overlook  the  obvious  objection  that  would  be  urged  against 
the  admission  of  parties  to  give  evidence  when  he  proposed 
it  in  his  speech  in  1828  ;  but  he  thus  replied  to  it  by  antici- 
pation : — 

Speaking  from  my  own  observation,  I  should  say  that  there  is  more  risk  of 
rash  swearing  than  of  actual  perjury  ;  of  the  party  becoming  jealous  and  obstinate, 
and  seeing  things  in  false  colours,  or  shutting  his  eyes  to  the  truth,  and  recol- 
lecting imperfectly,  or  not  at  all,  when  the  passions  are  roused  by  litigation. 

And  in  this  opinion  Sir  J.  Eardley-Wilmot  agrees,  who, 
being  himself  a  County  Court  Judge  of  several  years'  standing, 
is  entitled  to  speak  with  some  confidence.  He  says  that '  ex- 
perience of  the  modern  practice,  tested  daily  in  the  County 
Courts,  confirms  the  truth  and  soundness  of  the  above  obser- 
vation. Perjury  doubtless  is  increased,  but  very  often  testi- 
mony entirely  contradictory  may  be  accounted  for  in  the  way 
pointed  out  by  Mr.  Brougham,  without  necessarily  arriving  at 
the  conclusion  that  parties  are  intentionally  violating  the 
sanctity  of  an  oath.'  To  this  we  may  add  that  the  cases 
where  the  Judges  of  the  Superior  Courts  feel  themselves 
called  upon  to  commit  parties  to  a  cause  for  perjury  in  their 
evidence  are  very  rare. 

But  we  cannot  pursue  the  subject  of  Law  Reform  further 
at  present.  Much  has  been  accomplished,  but  much  still 
remains  to  be  done.  We  cannot  believe  that  the  absurdity  of 
shutting  up  a  jury  'without  meat,  drink,  or  fire,  candle  light 
excepted,'  until  they  are  agreed  upon  a  verdict,  will  be 
any  longer  tolerated  ;  and  we  have  in  a  previous  article 
already  expressed  our  opinion  that  the  requirement  of 
unanimity  of  juries,  ought,  in  civil  trials,  to  be  done  away 
with,  and  the  decision  of  a  majority,  which  to  conciliate  our 
opponents  we  are  willing  to  fix  at  two-thirds,  accepted  in  its 
stead.  We  can  only  regret  that  the  attempt  of  the  present 
Lord  Chancellor  during  the  last  session  to  effect  a  change  in 
this  respect  was  unsuccessful.  The  great  argument  with  which 
he  was  met,  was  the  infrequcncy  of  the  occurrence  of  juries 
being  discharged  without  a  verdict,  on  account  of  their  not 
being  able  to  agree.  But  we  attach  little  value  to  this  circum- 
stance even  supposing  it  to  be  true  to  the  extent  stated — 
which  we  doubt, — for  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  persuaded 
that  in  a  vast  number  of  cases  the  unanimity  is  a  sham  and 


2i6  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

not  a  reality  ;  and  the  verdict  represents  not  the  dehberate 
opinion  of  the  whole  jury,  but  that  of  a  majority  to  whom 
two  or  three  out  of  the  twelve  surrender  their  convictions  for 
the  sake  of  conformity,  forgetting  that  they  are  bound  by 
their  oath  '  to  give  a  tnie  verdict  according  to  the  evidence' 
We  do  not  know  whether  Lord  Brougham's  opinion  on  this 
question  has  undergone  any  change,  but  it  certainly  luas 
adverse  to  that  here  advocated.  In  his  speech  on  Local 
Courts  in  1S30,  after  saying  that  he  would  have  a  jury  to 
decide  all  cases  of  conflicting  testimony,  he  added,  *  but  I 
would  not  have  that  verdict  the  verdict  of  the  majority,  for, 
paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  I  would  have  a  forced  unanimity 
among  the  jury.  Were  it  otherwise,  there  would  never  be 
that  patient  investigation  which  is  necessary  to  come  at  the 
truth.  There  would  be  cries  of  "  Question  "  such  as  are  some- 
times heard  in  larger  and  less  judicial  assemblies.' 

There  is  also  the  important  question  of  our  Bankruptcy  Law, 
the  present  state  of  which  excites  such  deep  dissatisfaction  in 
the  mercantile  and  trading  community  ;  and  no  wonder  when 
we  consider  the  large  proportion  of  every  insolvent  estate 
which  is  swallowed  up  in  costs  and  percentages,  not  to  mention 
the  untenable  distinction  that  exists  between  traders  and  non- 
traders  as  to  the  operation  of  the  law.  And  a  late  notorious 
trial  has  furnished  a  strong  argument  in  favour  of  those  who 
insist  that  there  ought  to  be  a  criminal  Court  of  Appeal  on 
questions  of  fact,  which  we  incline  to  think  might  be  safely 
established,  if  due  care  were  taken  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  an 
absolute  right  of  appeal,  the  effect  of  which  would  be  that 
every  capital  case  would  be  tried  twice  over.  But  we  are  free 
to  confess  that  we  see  great  difficulties  in  the  way  of  such  a 
measure,  which  we  may,  perhaps,  take  another  opportunity  of 
fully  discussing.  It  is  to  be  hoped  also,  that  next  session  will 
see  Bills  brought  in  to  regulate  the  transfer  of  land,  and  for 
quieting  of  titles,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
costly  and  cumbrous  machinery  of  conveyancing  as  it  now 
exists,  and  of  making  land  a  more  marketable  commodity. 
On  one  of  the  ancient  bricks  discovered  at  Nineveh,  the 
cuneiform  inscription  is  believed  to  be  an  Assyrian  form  of 
conveyance,  and  although  we  can  hardly  hope  to  reduce  our 
forms  to  such  narrow  dimensions,  we  may  beyond  doubt  effect 


PROGRESS   OF  LEGAL  REFORM.  217 

a  wonderful  improvement  in  them  both  as  regards  simplicity 
and  brevity.  Then  again,  the  important  question  of  the  mode 
of  preparing  Acts  of  Parliament  must  be  dealt  with  ;  for  it  is 
a  scandal  and  a  disgrace  that  the  following  description  of 
the  process  given  by  Lord  Brougham  in  his  speech  on  Law 
Reform  in  184S,  should  still  be  the  language  not  of  satire 
but  truth. 

Np  system  whatever,  nothing  approaching  to  systematic,  is  to  be  seen  ;  all  is 
random,  all  haphazard,  all  blind  chance,  all  acting  in  the  dark,  without  rule  or 
guide,  or  compass  or  concert.  The  bills  propounded  have  a  twofold  origin  ;  they 
come  from  Boards  or  departments  of  the  State,  or  they  come  from  private  indi- 
viduals, whom,  without  any  disrespect,  I  may  term  amateurs  in  legislation.  But 
the  Boards,  independent  and  separate,  act  without  any  concert  or  any  communica- 
tion whatever,  are  entirely  ignorant  of  what  the  other  is  doing  ;  each  proceeding 
upon  principles  of  its  own,  if  principle  any  of  them  ever  think  of;  each  taking  its 
own  views  of  the  same  subject  matter  on  which  the  other  is  composing  law  ;  each 
employing  a  phraseology  of  its  own  ;  all  generally  in  collision,  and  oft-en  in  con- 
flict  The  result  of  this  habitual  carelessness  and  want  of  system  in 

the  preparation  of  our  laws  might  easily  be  foreseen.  A  mass  has  been  engen- 
dered, in  which  the  obscurity  of  darkness  alternates  with  the  glare  of  cross  light, 
meagre  explanation  with  inexcusable  prolixity,  repetition  with  omission,  repug- 
nancy with  truism,  a  mass  which,  if  it  be  not  termed  nonsense  and  contradiction, 
only  escapes  those  epithets  from  the  respect  due  to  the  venerable  name  of  a  Statu- 
tory Record. 

We  could  amuse  our  readers  with  many  proofs  of  this,  and 
with  instances  where  even  'the  venerable  name  of  a  Statutory 
Record  '  has  not  deterred  Judges  on  the  Bench  from  declaring 
provisions  of  Acts,  which  they  were  bound  to  interpret, 
nonsensical  and  contradictory.  But  we  have  not  space  to 
spare,  and  we  must  pass  on  to  the  remedy,  which,  we  are  inclined 
to  agree  with  Lord  Brougham  in  thinking,  can  only  be  found 
in  the  establishment  of  a  Board  formed  of  skilful  professional 
men,  '  not  to  supersede,  but  to  aid  both  Houses  of  Parliament 
in  the  preparation  of  Public  Bills.'  At  all  events  it  would  be 
impossible  to  controvert  the  canons  he  lays  down  as  essential 
to  be  observed  in  the  framing  of  statutes,  i.  A  statute  should 
never  be  made  without  a  careful  regard  to  former  statutes,  in 
pari  niaterid.  2.  One  part  of  a  statute  should  ever  have 
regard  to  all  its  other  parts.  3.  Alterations  made  in  passing 
a  Bill  should  carefully  be  made,  having  reference  to  the  parts 
that  are  left  unchanged. 

And,  in  respect  of  the  language  in  which  they  should  be 
conveyed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  discover  rules  more  apt  and 
useful  than  the  following,  which  will  be  found  in  the  same 


2i8  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

speech,  and  some  of  which  ought  to  be  kept  in  view  in  every 
species  of  composition. 

1.  Always  use  the  least  equivocal  and  the  plainest  temis. 

2.  Never  use  a  word  which  has  two  senses,  without  defining  in  which  it 
is  used. 

3.  Never  use  the  same  word  in  two  senses. 

4.  Never  use  different  words  in  the  same  sense. 

5.  Never  assume  as  known  what  has  not  been  expounded. 

6.  Never,  if  possible,  enact  by  reference  to  another  statute. 

7.  If,  to  avoid  greater  prolixity,  you  must  import  another  statute,  regard  care- 
fully the  text  of  the  Act  referred  to. 

Closely  connected  with  this  subject  are  the  questions  of  a 
Consolidation  of  the  Statutes  and  a  Code.  With  regard  to  the 
necessity  of  the  first  there  really  can  hardly  be  any  difference 
of  opinion.  It  is  a  work  urgently  required,  and  ought  not  to 
be  any  longer  delayed.  Our  Statute  Book  is  a  tangled  forest 
of  legislation,  in  which,  according  to  the  old  proverb,  one  cannot 
see  the  trees  for  the  wood.  None  but  the  most  experienced 
pioneer  can  hope  to  thread  his  way  through  the  intricate  laby- 
rinth ;  and  even  he  will  be  often  lost  in  the  brushwood  of 
contradictory  clauses,  inconsistent  provisions,  and  redundant 
and  superfluous  matter.  What  is  wanted  is  a  condensation  of  all 
statutes  relating  to  the  same  subject  into  one  or,  if  necessary, 
two  Acts,  framed  upon  the  principles  and  in  the  language 
indicated  by  Lord  Brougham,  and  a  repeal  of  the  previous 
legislation  relating  to  it.  This  will  be  the  starting  point,  and 
future  alterations  or  additions  can  easily  be  made  in  separate 
Acts,  until  they  become  sufficiently  numerous  to  justify  a 
second  total  repeal,  and  the  enactment  of  afresh  statute,  framed 
upon  the  model  of  the  former  one.  As  to  a  Code,  we  have 
some  doubts  as  to  both  its  practicability  and  its  expediency, 
for  reasons  which  are  generally  lost  sight  of  by  those  who  advo- 
cate its  adoption  in  this  country.  They  forget  that  the  English 
Courts  never  venture  beyond  the  letter  of  an  enactment.  They 
expound  the  law,  but  never  (at  least  in  theory)  extend  it.  We 
are  not  now  speaking  of  the  principles  of  the  common  law, 
which  arc  elastic  enough  to  admit  of  expansion  without  draw- 
ing upon  the  judges  what  they  would  consider  the  reproach  of 
waktJig  law  instead  of  declaring  it,  but  of  statute  law  :  and  no 
one  at  all  conversant  with  the  administration  of  justice  in 
England,  can  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  jealous  care  with 


PROGRESS  OF  LEGAL  REFORM.  219 

which  our  Courts  confine  themselves  within  the  h'mits  of 
written  law.  Their  maxim  is,  Jus  diccrc  ct  non  jus  dare,  and 
they  do  not  stir  a  hairbreadth  beyond  what  the  legislature 
has  enacted.  If,  then,  we  had  a  Code, — that  is,  a  written 
statutory  record  of  the  whole  law, — we  should  find  the  Courts 
trammelled  by  definitions  and  directions  to  which  they  would 
adhere  with  the  most  rigid  exactness,  but  which  would  lead 
to  many  absurdities,  and  in  not  a  few  cases  to  a  miscarriage  of 
justice.  For,  in  discussing  this  subject,  it  must  never  be  for- 
gotten that  both  the  Roman  and  the  French  Codes  admit  a 
latitude  of  interpretation,  and  have  in  some  points  an  indefinite- 
ness,  which  would  never  be  tolerated  in  England,  if  a  Code  were 
introduced  here.  Thus  it  is  one  of  the  provisions  of  the  'Code 
Napoleon,'  even  in  criminal  cases,  that  '  the  President  is  in- 
vested with  a  discretionary  power,  in  virtue  of  which  he  will 
be  able  to  take  upon  himself  all  that  he  shall  believe  to  be 
useful  for  discovering  the  truth.'  In  strong  contrast  with 
which  wc  may  quote  the  dictum  of  Lord  Camden,  that  *  the 
discretion  of  a  judge  is  the  law  of  tyrants.'  And  as  to  the 
great  work  of  Justinian,  which  is  so  often  appealed  to  as  the 
model  of  what  is  wanted  in  England,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  it  is  loose  and  vague  to  a  degree  of  which  those  who  have 
not  studied  it  can  have  no  conception.  It  is  admirable  in  the 
enunciation  of  certain  principles  founded  in  equity  and  good 
sense  ;  but  as  a  code  of  written  and  positive  law  it  is  utterly 
deficient  in  the  qualities  of  precision  and  accuracy,  such  as  we 
are  accustomed  to  look  for  in  any  legal  exposition  of  a  subject. 
The  '  Digest '  is  in  fact  an  undigested  mass  of  extracts  from 
text  writers  ;  the  'Juris  Prudentes  of  the  Roman  Law,'  and 
the  '  Code '  (properly  so  called)  is  a  collection  of  rescripts  or 
answers  sent  by  the  Emperors  to  particular  questions  submitted 
to  them  by  individuals.  It  is  in  the  Institutes  alone  that  we 
find  anything  like  scientific  or  systematic  arrangement,  and 
we  believe  that  they  were  the  last  great  work  of  Justinian's 
reign. 

But  supposing  the  difficulty  to  which  we  have  alluded  not  to 
exist,  there  are  other  objections  which  we  think  deserve  con- 
siderable weight.  A  Code  must  at  all  events  be  interpreted 
and  applied  to  the  facts  of  each  case  as  it  arises  ;  and  the 
English  law  abounds  in  the  nicest  and  most  subtle  distinctions, 


220  £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

some  of  them  so  shadowy  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
abstract  them  from  the  special  circumstances  which  gave  rise 
to  them,  and  embody  them  in  a  general  rule.  Hence  occurs 
the  necessity  of  voluminous  reports  of  cases,  in  order  that  the 
practising  lawyer  may  see  whether  or  not  they  can  be  distin- 
guished from,  or  whether  they  have  the  authority  of  precedents 
for,  the  particular  case  on  which  he  is  called  upon  to  advise. 
There  must,  therefore,  necessarily  spring  up  as  an  excrescence 
from  the  Code  a  body  of  commentaries  and  reports  without 
which  the  Code  itself  would  be  sure  to  mislead,  but  with  which 
the  public  would  be  no  better  off  than  they  are  at  present. 
And,  besides  all  this,  the  active  work  of  legislation  would  be 
constantly  going  on,  adding  to,  and  altering  or  modifying  the 
provisions  of  the  Code,  so  that  in  a  few  years  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  rely  upon  it  as  an  exposition  of  the  existing  law. 
We  might  multiply  objections  further,  but  we  cannot  at  pre- 
sent pursue  this  interesting  subject,  and  we  shall  conclude 
by  quoting  a  passage  from  Lord  Brougham's  speech  on  law 
reform  in  1848,  in  which  he  said,  on  referring  to  the  con- 
vulsions which  in  that  year  were  shaking  other  States  to  their 
foundations :  — 

I  have  the  most  entire  and  undoubting  confidence  in  the  powers  of  our  Con- 
stitution, and  the  loyalty,  the  virtue,  and  the  courage  of  my  fellow-subjects  to 
sustain  it.  But  the  better  the  law  is  under  which  they  live,  the  cheaper  its  admin- 
istration to  them,  the  closer  its  remedies  are  brought  to  their  own  doors,  the  plainer 
it  is  written  for  them  to  read,  and  the  simpler  to  comprehend  as  digested,  the 
more  secure  property  becomes  in  the  enjoyment,  the  easier  to  exchange  and  trans- 
fer, making  it,  as  Blackstone  says,  answer  more  perfectly  the  purposes  of  civil 
life,- — removing,  as  Locke  hath  it,  the  shoals  and  quicksands  which  beset  the 
course  of  those  who  deal  with  it, — the  better  will  our  system  deserve  the  people's 
love,  with  the  more  fervent  loyalty  will  it  be  by  them  upheld,  the  more  firmly 
nerved  in  its  defence  will  be  their  gallant  anus,  the  more  inaccessible  their  honest 
hearts  to  the  arts  of  all  its  enemies.     ' 

These  are  eloquent  words,  but  not  more  eloquent  than  true ; 
and  the  effect  of  the  legal  reforms  which  have  been  accom- 
plished within  the  memory  of  the  present  generation,  has 
unquestionably  been  to  perfect  the  noblest  institutions  of  this 
country,  and  to  strengthen  the  attachment  of  the  people  to 
the  laws  by  which  they  are  governed. 


AN  ELECTION  IN  FRANCE} 

'  Blackwood's  Magazine,'  July,  iS6o, 
Ilaud facili  libertas  d  domini  miscenlur. — Tacitus. 

An  article  has  very  recently  appeared  in  which  a  narrative 
was  given  of  the  mode  in  which  the  provinces  of  Savoy  and 
Nice  were  torn  from  Italy  and  annexed  to  France,  under  the 
pretence  of  an  appeal  to  the  populations  by  means  of  univer- 
sal suffrage.  It  was  there  shown,  by  the  evidence  of  facts 
which  came  under  the  cognisance  of  an  eyewitness,  that  the 
whole  process  was  a  gigantic  swindle,  and  that  the  result  ob- 
tained by  the  ballot-box  no  more  represented  the  real  opinions 
and  wishes  of  the  inhabitants,  than  if  they  had  been  marched 
up  to  the  poll  under  an  escort  of  military,  and  compelled  to 
vote  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  according  to  the  dictates  of 
the  French  Emperor,  whose  subjects  they  have  now  become. 
The  lesson  was  an  instructive  one,  and  it  has,  we  hope,  opened 
the  eyes  of  all  who  are  not  too  blind  to  see,  to  the  intense 
mockery  of  universal  suffrage  as  a  test  of  the  national  will, 
under  circumstances  of  pressure  such  as  was  exercised  in  the 
case  of  Nice  and  Savoy.  We  propose  now  to  show  the  way 
in  which  the  same  instrument  is  worked  in  France,  and  to  put 
our  readers  in  possession  of  some  facts  which  will  enable 
them  to  judge  of  the  worth,  or  rather  worthlessness,  of  an 
appeal  to  the  people  under  such  conditions. 

At  present  we  see  in  France  a  state  of  things  which  it  is 
difficult  to  comprehend.  We  can  understand  the  existence  of 
simple  despotism,  like  that  of  Russia  ;  or  limited  monarchy, 
like  that  of  England  ;  or  pure  democracy,  like  that  of  America; 
or  any  of  these,  with  certain  modifications  not  destructive  of 

'  Although  the  Empire  has  passed  interest  as  showing  how  popular  elec- 
away  and  a  Republic  now  (1874)  exi;  ts  in  tions  were  managed  under  the  Imperial 
France,  this  article  may  be  not  without      regime. 


2  22  £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  main  idea  and  central  principle  of  the  particular  form  of 
government.  But  despotism  and  democracy  are  contradictory 
opposites,  which  seem  to  be  no  more  capable  of  amalgamating 
than  fire  and  water.  Each  is,  in  theory  at  least,  the  absolute 
negative  of  the  other.  And  yet  France  exhibits  the  spectacle 
of  a  despotic  Government  based  on  the  most  democratic  of 
all  principles — universal  suffrage.  Under  it  the  Republic  was 
set  aside,  and  a  single  hereditary  ruler  was  voluntarily  chosen 
by  the  people,  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of  votes  ;  and 
under  it  the  Emperor  has  to  deal  with  a  representative  Cham- 
ber periodically  chosen  by  the  masses  of  the  people,  who,  it 
seems  to  be  paradoxical  to  assert,  are  perpetually  conspiring 
against  their  own  liberties.  However  carefully,  in  the  consti- 
tution framed  for  France  by  the  Emperor,  are  traced  the  limits 
within  which  the  Chamber  must  confine  itself,  it  is  impossible 
to  deny  that,  unless  the  Imperial  Government  were  popular  in 
France,  unmistakable  symptoms  of  general  disaffection  would 
show  themselves  within  its  walls  under  a  system  of  universal 
suffrage,  provided  the  suffrages  were  fairly  taken,  and  the 
members  chosen  truly  represented  the  opinions  of  their  con- 
stituents. We  see  no  answer  but  one  to  such  an  argument  as 
the  following,  which  might  be  used  by  Napoleon  III.  in  defence 
of  his  government : — 

Yon  complain  that  France  is  despotically  ruled,  and  that  her  liberties  are 
crashed  by  military  force  ;  that  she  has  no  free  press  ;  and  servilely  obeys  the 
dictates  of  the  head  of  the  State.  But  observe,  she  does  all  this  with  her  own 
free  will.  She  herself,  after  a  solemn  appeal  made  by  me  to  the  whole  popula- 
tion, chose  me  as  her  ruler  ;  and  she  possesses  in  the  Corps  Ugislatif:w\  organ 
through  which  her  voice  may  be  heard  with  less  chance  of  being  mistaken  than 
even  the  public  voice  in  the  Parliament  of  England  ;  for  there  the  right  of  suf- 
frage is  restricted  to  a  few,  whereas  in  France  it  belongs  to  the  whole  adult  male 
population.  If,  then,  you  admit  that  the  voice  of  the  nation  is  fairly  represented 
Ijy  the  deputies  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  and  admit  also,  as  you  cannot  deny, 
that  opposition  to  Government  in  the  Chamber  is  feeble  and  insignificant,  I  ask 
5'ou,  in  logical  fairness  and  consistency,  to  admit  that  France  and  I  are  perfectly 
at  one,  and  that  in  the  policy  which  I  pursue  I  act  merely  as  the  interpreter  of  her 
will.  You  tell  me  that  my  power  rests  on  the  bayonet,  but  I  appeal  to  the  testi- 
mony of  the  ballot-box. 

To  this  we  would  reply  by  asking  the  question,  *  Is  the 
ballot-box  a  true  witness  .-*  Is  the  testimony  it  gives  a  reality 
or  a  sham .-''  Certain  facts  have  come  to  our  knowledge 
which  make  us  doubt  the  integrity  of  the  appeal ;  and  we 
believe  that  the  solution  of  the  enigma  of  the  existence  of  so- 


AN  ELECTION  IN  FRANCE.  223 

called  free  institutions  in  France,  side  by  side  with  a  military 
despotism,  is  to  be  found  in  the  influence  which  the  French 
executive  is  able  to  exercise  over  the  elections,  and  thus  from 
the  dangerous  nettle  of  liberty  to  pluck  the  flower  of  safety 
for  itself  We  dare  say  our  readers  have  seen  the  ingenious 
trick  of  legerdemain  called  '  forcing  a  card,'  which  consists  in 
offering  to  a  bystander  his  choice  out  of  all  the  cards  of  the 
pack  as  they  are  rapidly  shuffled  before  his  eyes,  but  in  reality 
compelling  him  to  take  the  particular  card  the  conjuror  wishes. 
This  is  in  fact  very  much  like  the  modus  operandi  of  the  great 
French  Conjuror.  He  makes  the  people  believe  that  they  are 
exercising  a  free  choice  in  voting  by  ballot  for  a  representa- 
tive, but  he  takes  very  good  care  to  secure  as  far  as  possible 
the  return  of  a  candidate  nominated  by  himself 

It  is  not  easy  for  us  in  this  country  to  realise  the  extent 
to  which  Government  action  is  carried  in  France.  The 
distinctive  feature  of  the  freedom  which  is  the  boast  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  is  self-government.  Parish  vestries,  boards 
of  health,  boards  of  guardians,  municipal  corporations,  and 
local  committees,  manage  a  vast  number  of  public  affairs 
amongst  us,  with  as  little  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
executive  as  if  that  executive  did  not  exist.  But  in  France 
the  very  reverse  of  this  is  the  fact.  To  quote  the  words  of 
a  writer  which  seem  apposite  to  our  purpose  : — 

The  Government  there,  under  whatever  form,  whether  that  of  Director)',  Con- 
sulship, Empire,  Restoration,  Monarchy  of  the  Barricades,  Republic,  or  the  Army, 
which  is  its  present  phase,  has  ahvays  been  essentially  despotic  in  its  character. 
It  has  ruled  by  a  system  of  paid  employes  in  immediate  dependence  upon  itself. 
The  provincial  functionaries,  such  as  prefects  and  sub-prefects,  and  mayors  of 
arrondissements,  are  mere  puppets,  whose  strings  are  pulled  by  the  executive  in 
Paris.  In  no  country  is  the  system  of  police  surveillance  and  espionage  more 
thoroughly  understood  or  constantly  practised.  No  public  meetings  are  convened, 
as  in  England,  to  take  into  consideration  the  measures  of  Government,  and,  if 
necessary,  organise  a  peaceful  opposition  to  them.  The  people  are  not,  except 
in  the  solitary  instance  of  dropping  their  individual  votes  into  the  ballot-box  when 
the  period  of  an  election  comes  round,  made  parties  to  the  management  of  their 
own  interests.  Hence  there  is,  properly  speaking,  no  public  opinion  in  France 
the  influence  of  which  can  be  felt  by  statesmen,  and  enable  them  to  forecast  the 
measures  which  will  be  best  suited  for  the  wants,  and  most  in  accordance  with 
the  real  wishes  of  the  nation.  Hence  also  results  the  startling  paradox,  that  the 
French,  of  all  people  in  the  world,  are  the  most  impatient  of  constitutional  con- 
trol, and  the  most  servilely  submissive  to  despotic  power.' 


'  Yo-&.%\l\\:<>  nis!o}-y  of  Trialby  Jury,  pp.  421,  422. 


2  24  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

We  will  now,  by  way  of  example,  give  the  history  of  a 
French  election,  which  took  place  in  the  electoral  district  of 
Fougeres  and  Vitre,  in  the  department  of  Ille-et-Vilaine  in 
Brittany,  on  December  i8  and  19,  1859.  It  will  serve  as  a 
good  illustration  of  the  mode  in  which  universal  suffrage  works 
— or  rather  is  worked — across  the  Channel,  and  may  throw 
some  light  upon  the  machinery  by  which  the  existence  of  a 
representative  Chamber  is  made  compatible  with  that  of  a 
despotic  Empire.  And  the  lesson  it  affords  will  not  be  with- 
out its  use  at  a  time  when  the  process  is  applied  not  merely 
to  determine  the  result  of  particular  elections,  but  to  annex 
whole  provinces,  and  reconstruct  nationalities,  under  the  pre- 
tence of  an  appeal  to  the  people. 

We  take  the  facts  from  a  Protestation,  or,  as  we  should 
say,  Election  Petition,  presented  by  M.  le  Beschu  de  Champ- 
savin,  one  of  the  defeated  candidates,  to  the  Corps  Legislatif, 
praying  that  a  commission  of  inquiry  might  issue  to  verify  his 
allegations,  and  that  the  election  might  be  declared  null  and 
void,  on  account  of  the  illegal  practices  of  which  he  com- 
plained. 

M.  le  Beschu  is  a  gentleman  of  high  position  and  unim- 
peachable honour.  He  is  Conscillcr — that  is,  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  Conr  Impcriale  at  Rennes  in  Brittany — a  chevalier  of 
the  Legion  of  Honour,  and  possesses  considerable  estates,  one 
of  which,  Champsavin,  is  situated  in  the  commune  of  Louvign6, 
and  gives  its  name  to  his  family.  The  rest  of  his  property 
lies  within  the  electoral  district  of  Ille-et-Vilaine,  which  was 
the  scene  of  the  contest  we  are  about  to  narrate.  He  there- 
fore had  strong  local  claims  upon  the  inhabitants — at  all 
events,  as  compared  with  a  stranger — and  had  been  frequently 
returned  by  them  as  member  of  the  Conscil  Gaidral  of  the 
department.  A  general  election  being  about  to  take  place  in 
the  month  of  December  last  year,  M.  le  Beschu  determined  to 
present  himself  as  a  candidate  to  the  electors  of  the  arron- 
dissements  of  Fougeres  and  Vitre,  and  solicit  their  votes  for  the 
honour  of  a  seat  in  the  Coips  Legislatif.  His  first  step,  in 
conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  July  16,  1850, 
was  to  send,  on  November  26,  to  the  procurcurs  inipcrianx  of 
Fougeres  and  Vitre  a  declaration  of  his  intention  to  be  a  can- 
didate, and  also  a  copy  of  the  card  or  ticket  which  he  pro- 


JJV  ELECTION  EV  FRANCE.  225 

posed  to  distribute  in  the  two  arrondissements.  He  next  took 
the  oath  required  by  the  Scnatns  Consultiim  of  December  25, 
1852,  and  sent  the  announcement  of  his  intention  to  stand  to 
the  three  newspapers  which  are  pubHshed  at  Rennes.  One  of 
these  was  used  by  the  prefect  as  his  official  organ,  and  the 
appearance  of  M.  le  Beschu's  address  in  its  columns  was  headed 
by  a  sort  of  cautious  apology  on  the  part  of  the  editor : — 

Wc  have  received  from  the  Honourable  M.  le  Beschu  the  following  letter,  the 
insertion  of  which,  we  believe,  we  have  not  the  power  to  refuse. 

'  Have  not  the  power  to  refuse,'  Mr.  Editor }  what  does 
that  mean .''  What  possible  objection  could  you  have  to  in- 
serting the  letter,  even  if  you  were  at  liberty  to  decline  to  do 
so  >  The  fact  was,  that  the  prefect,  or  rather  the  Government, 
had  already  a  candidate  of  its  own  in  the  field,  in  the  person 
of  a  certain  M.  de  Dalmas,  who  filled  the  high  and  important 
office  of  Sous-chef  (in  Cabinet  de  V Einpereiir  \  and  the  prefect, 
in  obedience  to  orders  from  head-quarters,  had  previously,  on 
November  22,  addressed  a  circular  to  the  mayors  of  the 
different  communes  of  the  two  arrondissements,  strongly  in- 
sisting upon  the  duty  of  electing  M.  de  Dalmas.  We  ought 
to  state  that  several  other  candidates  besides  M.  le  Beschu, 
locally  known  to  the  electors,  had  declared  themselves  ;  but 
it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  the  name  of  one  of  them,  M. 
Dreo,  who  alone  of  the  others  went  to  the  poll,  and  of  whom 
we  shall  have  something  to  say  by-and-by. 

M.  le  Prcfet  said  in  his  circular  that  the  government  of 
the  Emperor  had  charged  him  to  recommend,  in  its  name,  to 
the  electors  as  the  candidate  of  its  choice,  M.  de  Dalmas, 
Sous-chef  du  Cabinet  de  T  Empcreur ;  and  he  expressed  his 
hope  that  the  electors  would  receive  with  favour  the  name 
'  of  one  of  the  first  functionaries  of  the  household  of  the  Em- 
peror,' and  thus  secure  for  their  interests  a  patron  in  a  better 
position  than  any  of  the  other  candidates  '  to  assist  us  in  the 
accomplishment  of  works  of  public  utility  which  we  have 
commenced,  or  which  we  propose  to  undertake,  in  the  interest 
of  the  population  of  Ille-et-Vilaine.'  And  he  added,  that  the 
motives  which  had  determined  the  Government  to  recommend 
M.  de  Dalmas  to  the  electors  were,  first,  the  necessity  of  pre- 
venting unhappy  divisions  which  would  take  place  if  the  con- 

Q 


226  JiSSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

test  were  confined  to  local  candidates ;  and,  secondly,  the 
advantage  of  confiding  important  interests  to  an  eminent  per- 
son {une  notahilite),  in  a  position  to  defend  them. 

We  do  not  stop  to  criticise  this  production  of  ]\I.  le  Prefef, 
othenvise  we  might  ask  why  '  the  Government'  should  be 
anxious  to  have  the  interests  of  lUe-et-Vilaine  entrusted  to  so 
puissant  an  advocate  as  one  of  its  own  creatures  was  thus  re- 
presented to  be  ;  for  as  all  public  favours  must  emanate  from 
the  Government,  it  surely  could  confer  them,  if  it  pleased, 
without  the  intervention  of  the  Sous-CHEF  dn  Cabinet  de 
r  Empercur. 

With  reference  to  the  remark,  that  the  adoption  of  a 
Government  candidate  was  proposed  to  prevent  jealousies  and 
heart-burnings,  M.  le  Beschu  makes  an  admission  which  shows 
how  fully  he  recognises  the  right  of  the  executive  to  interfere 
within  limits  which  we  should  have  thought  wide  enough  to 
satisfy  even  Imperial  ideas  on  the  subject  of  freedom  of  elec- 
tion. He  says,  '  If  the  Administration  had  made  its  choice 
amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  who  appeared  to  be 
most  popular  with  the  electors,  all  the  other  rival  candidates 
would  have  instantly  retired  from  the  contest'  The  primary 
grievance  complained  of,  therefore,  seems  to  be,  not  Govern- 
ment interference  as  such,  but  its  interference  on  behalf  of  a 
stranger. 

In  order  fully  to  understand  the  allusions  in  M.  le  Prefef  s 
circular  to  the  probable  benefits  which  M.  de  Dalmas  might 
be  able  to  confer  upon  the  district  if  he  were  elected,  we  ought 
to  mention  that  it  was  preceded  by  notices  in  some  of  the 
local  newspapers,  that  the  Emperor,  '  at  the  instance  of  the 
prefect,'  had  decided  upon  creating  a  doniaine  hnperiale  in  the 
department  of  Ille-et-Vilaine  ;  and  in  order  to  puff  J/,  le 
Prefet,  it  was  added  that  '  the  execution  of  this  plan  could 
not  be  entrusted  to  better  hands  than  those  of  the  enlightened 
magistrate,  who,  with  such  loftiness  of  view,  seconds,  in  our 
country,  the  intelligent  policy  of  the  Emperor.' 

The  prefect's  next  step  was  to  send  a  circular  to  all  the 
mayors,  telling  them  to  address  to  every  elector  within  his 
jurisdiction  a  ticket,  containing  the  name  of  M.  de  Dalmas, 
*  candidate  of  the  Government  of  the  Emperor,'  and  they  were 
ordered  to  give  every  publicity  to  an  official  proclamation, 


AN  ELECTION  IN  ERANCE.  227 

copies  of  which  accompanied  the  letter.  This  was  an  address 
to  the  electors,  sii^nied  Lc  Prcfct  d  Illc-ct-Vi/aiuc,  P.  Feart  ; 
and  as  we  arc  not  in  the  habit  of  seeing  such  documents  in 
this  country  issued  by  Government  officials,  even  in  the  case 
of  dockyard  constituencies,  we  will  give  it  entire  as  an  elec- 
tioneering curiosity : — 

ELECTION   FOR  THE  ARRONDISSEMENTS  OF  FOUGi:RES  AND   VITRE   UNITED. 


PROCLAMATION. 

The  Prefect  of  Ille-et-  Vilaine  to  the  Electors  of  the  arrondissements  of  Fougires  and 
VitrL 

Electors ! 

The  Government  proposes  to  you  to  choose  as  deputy  M.  de  Dahnas,  sous-chef 
of  the  Cabinet  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor. 

M.  de  Dalmas  belongs  to  Brittany. 

He  knows  your  interests. 

He  appreciates  the  full  extent  of  your  wants. 

He  is  in  a  position,  as  well  from  sympathy  as  duty,  to  fulfil  faithfully  the 
trust  reposed  in  him,  and  to  devote  himself  usefully  to  the  prosperity  of  your 
country. 

M.  de  Dalmas,  besides,  is  not  only  able  to  make  the  Government  appreciate 
all  your  claims  to  its  good-will — 

He  affords  to  us,  by  the  very  fact  of  his  becoming  a  candidate,  tlie  means  of 
proving  that  the  Government,  now  to-day  as  at  the  time  of  the  visit  to  Brittany, 
can  reckon  upon  your  support. 
Electors ! 

You  have  up  to  this  day  availed  yourselves  of  all  occasions  that  have  been  offered 
to  you  to  manifest  your  sympathies  for  the  Government  of  the  Emperor,  and  your 
devotion  to  your  country. 

No  other  candidate  would  be  able,  in  the  same  degree  as  M.  de  Dalmas,  to 
give  satisfaction  to  your  sentiments  of  gratitude,  and  to  your  interests. 

We  have  the  confident  hope  that  you  M-ill,  by  your  votes  in  favour  of  M.  de 
Dalmas,  ratify  the  choice  of  the  Government  of  the  Empire. 

Done  at  the  Hotel  of  the  Prefecture,  at  Rennes,  the  9th  of  December,  1859. 

The  Prefect  of  Ille-et- Vilaine 
(Signed)  P.   Feart. 

The  prefect  also  addressed  a  significant  notice  to  the 
mayors,  directing  them  to  inform  him  of  the  names  of  the 
inhabitants  of  their  communes  who  showed  themselves  fa- 
vourable to  the  canvass  of  M.  le  Beschu;  and  the.  Jiige  de paix 
of  one  of  the  cantons  also  officially  requested  the  different 
mayors  to  give  him  immediate  notice  of  any  steps  taken  in 
favour  of  any  candidate  in  opposition  to  that  of  the  Govern- 
ment.    Whatever  may  have  been  the  object  of  this  request, 

Q  2 


228  BSSAYS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

it  certainly  came  with  a  bad  grace  from  \X\(ijiigc  de  paix,  whose. 
position  required  the  most  absolute  impartiality,  for  he  dis- 
charges functions  analogous  to  those  of  the  revising  barristers 
in  England,  and  determines  as  a  court  of  appeal  upon  claims 
to  vote,  and  thus  forms,  in  effect,  the  electoral  lists. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that,  vrith  such  an  example  set 
them  by  M.  Ic  Prcfct,  the  underlings  in  office  were  not  behind- 
hand in  zeal.  On  Saturday,  December  17 — the  day  before 
the  ballot,  which  was  to  open  on  Sunday  morning  after  mass 
— the  soiis-prefct  of  Fougeres,  M.  Thil,  addressed  a  private 
circular  to  the  mayors  of  the  communes,  which  we  will  quote 
at  length,  as  it  is  a  remarkable  document,  and  shows  the  sort 
of  pressure  put  upon  the  country  mayors  to  make  them  do 
their  duty,  by  insuring  as  far  as  possible  the  return  of  the 
Government  candidate  : — 

FouGfeRES,  I'] th  December,  1859. 

Mr.  Mayor, — The  ballot  opens  to-morrow.  I  have  the  honour  to  remind 
you  that  it  is  your  duty  to  open  it  immediiitely  after  the  first  mass ;  that  you  will 
have  on  the  table  [sitr  le  biireau')  a  certain  number  of  tickets  bearing  the  name  of 
M.  de  Dalmas,  and  no  other ;  that  it  is  important  that  persons  of  intelligence, 
and  who  can  be  relied  upon  (person iies  infelligentes  ei  siires),  furnished  with  tickets 
bearing  the  name  of  M.  de  Dalmas,  should  occupy  the  approaches  to  the  town- 
hall,  and  protect  the  electors  of  your  commune,  who  are  so  well-intentioned, 
against  error  and  falsehood. 

A  cantoniiicr  (road -labourer)  will  be  placed,  subject  to  your  orders,  during  the 
two  days  of  the  ballot. 

Three  candidates  are  in  presence  : — M.  de  Dalmas,  secretarial  sous-chef  o{  the 
Cabinet  of  the  Emperor,  candidate  of  the  Government ;  M.  le  Beschu  de  Champ- 
savin  ;  M.  Dreo,  son-in-law  of  Gamier-Pages,  founder  of  the  Republic  in  1848, 
one  of  those  who  decreed  the  forty-five  centimes,  of  which  you  will  have  preserved 
the  recollection. 

M.  de  Dalmas  represents  the  principle  of  devotion  to  the  Government,  to 
authority,  to  order,  and  he  alone  is  able  by  his  position  to  favour  the  develop- 
ment of  the  numerous  interests  of  the  arrondissement. 

M.  Dreo  represents  the  Republic,  Socialism,  Destitution. 

Between  these  two  candidates  in  opposition,  the  claims  of  the  Hon.  M.  le 
Beschu  upon  your  suffrages  ought  to  be  obliterated  before  the  interests  of  order 
and  society,  which  are  menaced. 

Make  the  electors,  Mr.  Mayor,  vote  in  a  mass  {faites  voter  en  masse)  for  M. 
Dalmas,  candidate  of  the  Government,  and  by  your  enlightened  and  patriotic 
conduct  you  will  serve  at  once  the  Government  of  the  Emperor  and  the  general 
interests  of  the  country. 

The  Sub-prefect  of  Fouglres, 

(Signed)  Thil. 

It  is  only  fair  to  mention  that  this  circular  of  M.  Thil 
drew  down  upon  him  a  reprimand  from  the  Minister  of  the 


AN  ELECTION  IN  ERANCE.  229 

Interior  when  it  was  brought  under  his  notice,  and  he  was  told 
that  the  instructions  contained  in  it  exceeded  the  Hmit  of 
'administrative  action.'  We  have  no  fault  to  find  with  the 
tone  or  manner  of  the  rebuke  ;  but  the  sub-prefect  might 
fairly  urge  in  his  defence  that  he  had  done  little  more  than 
copy  the  example  set  him  by  his  superior  officer,  the  prefect, 
who  was  not  reprimanded. 

It  is  amusing  to  see  the  terms  in  which  poor  M.  Dreo, 
'son-in-law  of  Garnier-Pages,  founder  of  the  Republic  in 
1848/  is  here  spoken  of  '  M.  Dreo  represents  the  Republic, 
Socialism,  Destitution  {la  inisbr)  !'  and  this  flattering  descrip- 
tion is  given  of  him  by  a  gentleman  who  most  probably  was 
soiis-prefct  under  the  Republic,  and  perhaps  owed  his  office 
originally  to  the  very  Government  of  which  he  now  speaks  in 
such  contemptuous  language.  Mais  nous  avons  change  tout 
cda,  and  a  sneer  at  the  Republic  comes  well  from  official  lips 
under  the  Empire.  The  Imperial  Government,  however,  did 
not  run  much  risk  as  to  M.  Dreo's  chances  of  success,  for  in 
fifty-eight  communes  he  did  not  get  a  single  vote,  and  in 
.thirty-six  others  he  only  polled  14 1  votes  altogether.  The 
contest,  if  contest,  under  the  circumstances  we  are  about  to 
detail,  it  can  be  called — si  rixa  est  nbi  tn  pu/sas,  ego  vapiilo 
tantum — lay  between  M.  de  Dalmas  and  M.  le  Beschu.  Before, 
however,  we  come  to  the  actual  ballot,  and  what  took  place 
there,  let  us  see  the  mode  in  which  official  bribery  and  cor- 
ruption were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  election. 

In  order  to  understand  this,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the 
great  influence  and  power  of  a  French  prefect,  who  is  a  func- 
tionary very  different  from  any  we  are  familiar  with  in  this 
country  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  institute  a  comparison  where 
little  or  no  resemblance  really  exists.  It  used  to  be  said  that 
the  three  most  despotic  beings  in  the  world  were  a  Turkish 
pacha,  a  captain  of  a  man-of-war,  and  a  Winchester  prefect. 
We  will  not  assert  that  the  French  prefect  is  absolutely  de- 
spotic, but  he  is  the  direct  organ  of  the  supreme  executive  in 
his  department ;  he  is  the  channel  of  Government  patronage 
and  favour,  and  is  altogether,  in  the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants,  a 
very  awful  personage.  We  may  imagine  therefore  the  effect 
of  his  personal  interference  at  an  election  upon  the  ignorant 
community  of  the  rural  districts  of  France,  where  he  is  re- 


230  £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

garded  not  merely  as  the  direct  representative  of  Government, 
but  is  in  some  measure  the  impersonation  of  the  Government 
itself.  Government  places  are  only  to  be  obtained  through 
him.  He  is  the  dispenser  of  Government  patronage — the 
redresser  of  public  grievances  in  his  district — the  interpreter 
of  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  minister  in 
Paris.  He  is,  in  short,  the  great  man  of  the  department,  and 
his  visit  to  a  small  provincial  town  or  village  is  an  epoch  in  its 
history.  To  be  noticed  by  il/.  le  Prcfct  is  there  an  event  in  a 
man's  life  ;  and  the  fact  is  treasured  amongst  the  family  re- 
collections, as  in  Beranger's  well-known  song,  Lcs  Souvenirs 
dii  Pcuple,  the  old  lady  tells  her  admiring  grandchildren  that 
she  was  once  spoken  to  by  the  first  Napoleon — 

II  me  dit,  '  Bonjour,  ma  chere, 

Bonjour,  ma  chere.' 
II  vous  a  parle,  grand'mere, 

II  vous  a  parle  ! 

Fancy,  then,  the  flutter  produced  amongst  the  rustics  of 
Brittany  by  M.  Ic  Prcfet  accompanying  M.  de  Dalmas  in  his 
canvass,  and  personally  introducing  him  to  the  electors.  And 
having  once  embarked  in  the  contest,  M.  Feart  was  determined 
not  to  mince  matters,  but  to  make  all  the  use  possible  of  the 
name  of  the  Emperor  himself.  He  delivered  speeches,  in 
which  he  said  (the  oily  flatterer !),  alluding  to  a  visit  paid  by 
the  Emperor  to  Brittany  the  previous  year — 

The  Emperor  has  not  forgotten  the  reception  he  met  with  here  last  year.  He 
lias  asked  himself  what  he  could  do  for  your  excellent  population.  A  vacancy 
having  occurred  in  your  representative,  the  idea  has  occurred  to  the  Emperor  that  it 
might  be  filled  up  by  one  of  the  first  functionaries  of  his  household — a  man  near 
his  own  person — who  will  be  able  to  give  him  information  about  your  district,  and 
speak  to  him  daily  about  your  wants  !  M.  de  Dalmas,  then,  is  as  good  as 
the  Emperor  for  you  [est  done  l''E»ipereur poj(r  vous),  and  you  ought  to  return 
him  in  gratitude  to  the  Emperor,  for  all  that  he  has  done  and  will  still  do  for 
Brittany. 

The  prefect  took  care  also  to  introduce  M.  de  Dalmas  to 
the  aires,  who  have  naturally  and  properly  no  inconsiderable 
influence  over  the  rural  population  in  France  ;  and  significant 
hints  were  thrown  out  as  to  the  advantages  that  would  result 
to  the  sacred  edifices  under  their  care  if  he  were  elected.  If 
the  parish  church  wanted  repair,  ]\I.  de  Dalmas  was  the  man 
who  had  interest  enough  to  find  funds  for  the  purpose.  He 
told  them,  '  If  I  am  elected,  I  hope  to  obtain  from  Govern- 


AN  ELECTION  IN  FRANCE.  231 

incut  a  grant  for  the  restoration  of  your  church.'  One  old 
gentleman,  who  was  not  inclined  to  be  caught  by  the  bait, 
rather  disconcerted  the  canvasser  by  his  matter-of-fact  answer. 
When  he  was  asked,  '  Don't  you  think  of  rebuilding  your 
church  ? — it  seems  very  old,'  he  replied,  *  Ah  !  sir,  I  am  too 
old  to  handle  the  trowel — I  must  leave  that  business  to  my 
successor.'  But  others  were  more  alive  to  their  own  interests, 
and  it  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  in  his  Sunday  sermon  in 
one  of  the  churches  which  was  too  small  for  the  congregation, 
a  priest  called  upon  his  hearers  to  vote  for  M.  de  Dalmas, 
exclaiming,  *  Vote  for  him,  and  you  will  vote  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  our  church.'  Large  sums  were  also  promised  for 
making  and  repairing  roads ;  and  at  Bazouges,  where  a  good 
deal  of  interest  was  felt  in  the  construction  of  a  new  bridge, 
the  prefect  openly  told  the  municipality,  that  if  they  voted 
rigJit  {s'ils  votaicnt  bien),  he  would  allot  fifteen  thousand  francs 
for  the  purpose.  At  St.  Aubin  he  declared  that  the  question 
of  establishing  an  imperial  domain  in  that  locality  depended 
on  the  result  of  the  election. 

But  hints  and  promises  were  not  enough.  31.  le  Pri^fct 
availed  himself  of  his  official  position  to  bribe  the  communes 
by  a  rather  lavish  distribution  of  the  moneys  voted  by  the 
conseil-gcncral  of  lUe-et-Vilaine,  the  application  of  which,  in 
certain  proportions,  depended  very  much  upon  his  discretion, 
but  of  which  not  one  farthing  owght  to  have  been  appropriated 
to  electioneering  objects.  Part  of  these  funds  had  been  voted 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor — or  what  we  should  call  a  poor-rate  ; 
part  for  the  purchasing  of  fire-engines  ;  part  for  the  building 
and  furnishing  of  school-houses  and  residences  of  the  mayors; 
part  for  infirmaries  and  hospitals  :  and  the  proper  proportion 
which  the  arrondissement  of  Fougeres  and  Vitre  was  entitled 
to  receive  out  of  this  was  one-fourth,  but  in  reality  it  received 
considerably  more  ;  and  the  only  reason  was,  that  a  Government 
candidate  was  on  the  field,  strenuously  supported  by  the  prefect, 
who  had  the  disbursement  of  the  money.  We  need  not  mention 
the  images  of  Christ,  and  busts  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress, 
which  he  was  generous  enough  to  give  to  the  village  schools — 
but  all  out  of  the  public  purse,  and  just  before  the  election. 

But  this  was  not  all.  A  road  was  in  the  course  of  construc- 
tion from  Vitre  to  St.  Malo,  and  the  question  was  whether  it 


232  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

should  go  through  the  town  of  St.  Aubin,  the  streets  of  which 
were  narrow  and  crooked,  or  pass  outside  the  town.  The 
engineers  wished  to  give  the  go-by  to  the  town,  but  the  inha- 
bitants were  strongly  opposed  to  this,  as  they  thought  they 
would  lose  in  some  degree  the  benefit  of  the  road.  The  prefect 
adroitly  availed  himself  of  the  dispute,  and  told  the  inhabitants 
that  if  they  elected  M.  de  Dalmas,  he  was  just  the  man  to  get 
the  road  made  through  the  town,  for  a  word  from  him  to  the 
Emperor  would  be  sufficient. 

At  Saint  Brice,  the  cabarctiers,  or,  as  we  should  call  them, 
keepers  of  beer-houses  and  wine-shops,  told  the  prefect  while 
he  was  openly  canvassing  for  M.  de  Dalmas,  that  they  would 
vote  to  a  man  for  him,  and  do  all  they  could  to  induce  their 
customers  to  vote  also,  if  he  would  allow  them  to  keep  their 
houses  open  until  ten  o'clock,  instead  of  closing  them  at  nine, 
as  the  law  required.  M.  le  Prefect  immediately  gave  them 
the  permission,  and  of  course  secured  their  votes.  In  a  par- 
ticular canton  of  the  department,  several  of  the  communes 
had  petitioned  for  the  withdrawal  of  a  commissary  of  police, 
not  on  the  ground  of  any  personal  objection  to  that  office,  but 
on  account  of  the  expense.  Nothing,  however,  was  done  until 
M.  de  Dalmas  came  into  the  field,  when  the  commissary  was 
withdrawn,  and  it  was  publicly  announced  that  the  suppression 
of  the  office  was  due  to  his  influence  at  headquarters. 

The  rural  postman  also,  who  holds  his  place  at  the  pleasure 
of  the  prefect,  was  converted  into  an  electioneering  agent.  He 
was  furnished  with  a  quantity  of  M.  de  Dalmas's  tickets,  and 
when,  after  giving  his  well-known  knock  at  a  cottage  door,  he 
found  a  voter  in  possession  of  one  of  M.  le  Beschu's  cards,  he 
begged  him  to  exchange  it  for  one  of  the  right  sort — that  is,  one 
of  M.  de  Dalmas's — saying,  '  You  may  get  into  a  scrape  {iwits 
poiivcz  vous  comprovicttrc).  Take  this  ticket ;  I  bring  it  by  the 
order  of  M.  le  Prefet,  who  wishes  no  other  card  to  be  put  into 
the  ballot-box.'  And  as  the  electors  might  naturally  imagine 
that,  the  essence  of  vote  by  ballot  being  secrecy,  they  might 
drop  into  the  box  any  ticket  they  pleased  without  betraying 
themselves,  they  were  told  that  the  paper  of  M.  le  Beschu's 
tickets  was  different  from  that  of  M.  de  Dalmas,  and  not  so 
transparent ;  so  that  the  mayor  who  presided  at  the  table  on 
which  the  ballot-box  was  placed,  would  not  fail  to  recognise 


AN  ELECT/O.V  AY  FRANCE.  233 

the  ticket,  and  he  would  take  care  to  remember  the  names  of 
those  who  voted  for  M.  le  Beschu.  What  a  practical  commentary 
upon  the  protection  the  ballot  offers  to  the  voter  in  France ! 

Public-house  keepers  were  also  warned  that  if  they  sup- 
ported M.  le  Beschu  their  licences  would  be  withdrawn  ;  and 
one  of  them,  whose  opposition  sympathies  were  known,  was 
openly  told  that  he  was  the  first  who  should  suffer.  So  much 
for  the  regard  paid  to  Article  39  of  the  Organic  Decree  of 
February  2,  1852,  which  provides  as  follows  : — 

Those  who,  Ijy  acts,  violence,  or  threats  agahist  an  elector,  whether  by  making 
him  fear  the  loss  of  his  employment,  or  the  exposure  to  risk  of  his  person,  his 
family,  or  his  fortune,  shall  have  determined  him  to  abstain  from  voting,  or  shall 
have  influenced  his  vote,  shall  be  punished  with  imprisonment,  varj'ing  from  one 
month  to  one  year,  and  a  fine  varying  from  a  hundred  to  a  thousand  francs.  The 
penalty  shall  be  double  if  the  guilty  person  is  a  public  functionary. 

But  to  show  the  lengths  to  which  intimidation  was  prac- 
tised, we  cannot  do  better  than  tell  the  story  of  a  poor  post- 
man, which  M.  le  Beschu  offered  to  prove  upon  oath,  if  an 
inquiry  were  granted  him  by  the  Co7'ps  Legislatif  and  which 
may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  the  sort  of  petty  tyranny  that  goes 
on  at  elections  in  France,  where  Government  officials  have 
such  overweening  power. 

At  Saint-Ouen-de-la-Rouerie,  a  M.  B ,  an  old  friend 

of  M.  le  Beschu,  had  a  country  house,  where  he  kept  up  an 
establishment,  consisting,  amongst  others,  of  a  gamekeeper, 
a  gardener,  and  a  bailiff.  The  bailiff  was  named  Dussuel, 
and  he  also  acted  as  rural  postman  for  the  neighbourhood, 
filling  thereby  two  offices  which  would  not  be  thought  very 

compatible   in   this   country.      M.  B sent  a  packet   of 

M.  le  Beschu's  tickets  to  his  gamekeeper  and  gardener  for  dis- 
tribution, but  expressly  told  Dussuel  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  them  on  account  of  his  connection  with  the  post-office. 
Dussuel  faithfully  observed  this  injunction,  and  was  therefore 
not  a  little  surprised  and  alarmed  at  being  summoned  by  the 
soiis-prefct  before  the  J7ige  de  paix,  and  charged  with  having 
distributed  M.  le  Beschu's  tickets,  and  engaged  in  opposition  to 
the  Government  !  The  bailiff  postman  stoutly  denied  the 
accusation,  which  was  utterly  false  ;  but  the  only  answer  he 
got  from  the  sous-pnfet,  who  seems  to  have  cared  little  for 
the  presence  or  opinion  of  the  fngc  de  paix,  was,  *  I  tell  you 


234  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

you  are  suspended,  and  I  shall  apply  for  your  dismissal' 
Dussuel,  who  was  a  widower  with  five  small  children  depen- 
dent upon  him,  implored  the  aid  of  M.  B ,  who  immediately 

went  to  the  prefect  and  told  him  the  facts  of  the  case  ;  upon 
which  an  investigation  took  place,  and  it  was  proved  that 
Dussuel  had  not  carried  a  single  ticket  of  M.  le  Beschu,  but 
several  belonging  to  M.  de  Dalmas.  Still  the  sub-prefect 
was  not  satisfied,  and  he  was  allowed  to  institute  a  fresh  in- 
quiry, in  the  course  of  which  Dussuel,  to  confirm  his  assertion 
of  his  innocence,  was  incautious  enough  to  put  into  the  hands 
of  the  sub-prefect  the  letter  of  M.  B ,  in  which  he  had  ex- 
pressly forbidden  him  to  distribute  M.  le  Beschu's  cards.  Mark 
now  the  perverse  ingenuity  of  the  sons-prefct,  worthy  of  the 
astuteness  of  a  Turkish  Cadi.  He  declared  that  the  letter  itself 
was  Dussuel's  condemnation  ;  '  for,'  said  he,  'this  postman  has 

not  distributed  opposition  cards  because  M.  B told  him 

not  to  do  it :  it  is  plain,  then,  that  hew  o\]i.T>  have  distributed 

them  if  M.  B had  not  told  him  not  to  do  so:  in  consequence, 

I  demand  his  dismissal.'  This,  however,  was  going  a  little  too 
far  for  even  M.  lePrcfet  and  he  contented  himself  with  ordering 
Dussuel  to  act  as  postman  in  a  different  part  of  the  country. 
The  Postmaster-General  (le  directenr  general  des  posies)  was 
then  appealed  to,  and  the  result  was  that  Dussuel  was  allowed 
to  retain  his  former  district,  but  on  the  express  condition  that 

he  was  to  give  up  his  employment  as  bailiff  to  M.  B ,  and 

not  to  act  as  postman  to  the  town  of  St.  Ouen. 

In  another  part  of  the  electoral  district,  a  poor  fellow,  who 
filled  the  offices  of  grave-digger  and  bill-sticker,  was  deprived 
of  both  places  by  the  mayor,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  dis- 
tributed M.  le  Beschu's  tickets  ;  and  when  he  had  cleared 
himself  from  this  heinous  charge,  he  was  restored  only  on 
condition  that  he  would  distribute  M.  de  Dalmas's  tickets,  and 
vote  right. 

After  this  it  is  needless  to  say  that  the  v/hole  body  of 
Government  employes,  from  the  prefet  to  the  cantonnier,  in- 
cluding sous-prefets,  viaires,  gendarmerie,  instituteurs  primaires, 
and  facteurs,  was  arrayed  against  M.  le  Beschu,  and  left  no 
stone  unturned  to  throw  difficulties  in  his  way,  and  secure  the 
return  of  M.  de  Dalmas,  ^candidal  dn  Gouvernement,'  and 
'  nn  des  premiers  fiinetionnaires  de  la  inaison  de  rEmpcrenr! 


AN  ELECTION  IN  FRANCE.  235 

Threats,  promises,  intimidation,  flattery,  espionage,  all  were 
resorted  to,  lest  in  an  obscure  part  of  Brittany  the  inhabitants 
might  be  blind  enough  to  choose  as  their  representative  a 
gentleman  of  excellent  character  and  high  position,  who 
resided  amongst  them,  and  was  well  known  to  them  personally, 
in  preference  to  an  utter  stranger,  whose  only  recommendation 
^vas  that  he  was  Sons-chef  die  Cabinet  dc  V Empcrcnr. 

We  come  now  to  Sunday  December  18,  the  day  when 
the  ballot  commenced ;  and  we  will  fix  our  attention  upon 
a  single  commune,  that  of  Louvigne-du-Desert,  in  which  the 
estate  of  Champsavin,  belonging  to  M.  le  Beschu,  is  situated, 
and  where,  he  frankly  tells  us,  the  efforts  of  the  prefect  and 
sub-prefect  had  been  most  active  against  him,  as  they  not 
mireasonably  supposed  that  he  would  there  be  most  likely 
to  obtain  a  majority  of  votes.  It  will,  however,  serve  as  a 
specimen  of  tlie  modns  operandi  in  the  other  communes  of 
the  district. 

The  scene  opens  at  the  town-hall,  or  w^r/z-zV— time  just 
after  morning  mass.  A  body  of  functionaries,  all  in  the  employ 
of  Government,  were  stationed  in  two  rows  between  the  church 
and  the  hall,  forming  a  sort  of  lane  along  which  the  voters  had 
to  pass  on  their  way  to  the  ballot-box.  Like  the  touters  who 
surround  the  traveller  on  his  arrival  by  the  steamboat  at 
Calais  or  Boulogne  armed  with  the  cards  of  their  different 
hotels,  these  functionaries  thrust  the  tickets  of  M.  de  Dalmas 
into  the  hands  of  the  countrymen,  and  did  all  in  their  power 
to  make  them  throw  away  those  of  M.  le  Beschu.  After  thus 
running  the  gauntlet  outside,  the  electors  entered  the  town- 
hall,  where  they  found  the  mayor  seated  at  the  table  with  the 
ballot-box  before  him,  and  a  heap  of  M.  de  Dalmas's  tickets 
ready  for  use,  but  not  a  single  ticket  of  M.  le  Beschu.  The  law 
requires  that  the  tickets  shall  be  folded  {fonncs),  and  it  is 
usual  to  double  them  twice,  in  order,  of  course,  to  conceal  as 
much  as  possible  the  name  of  the  candidate  for  whom  the 
elector  votes  ;  but  on  this  occasion  the  mayor  took  care  to 
half  unfold  the  paper  after  it  was  put  into  his  hands,  and  feel 
it  with  his  fingers  (pray  do  not  forget  the  hint  about  the 
difference  in  the  quality  of  the  paper  of  the  two  set  of  ticket.s), 
on  the  pretence  that  there  might  be  two  tickets  folded  toge- 
ther ;  and  when,  by  this  process  of  palmistry,  he  discovered 


236  ASSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

that  the  vote  was  intended  for  M.  le  Beschu,  he  had  the  effron- 
tery to  tell  the  elector  that  he  was  voting  against  '  the  pump 
and  the  market,'  both  which,  it  seems,  wanted  funds  for  com- 
pletion, and  stood  in  need  of  the  powerful  assistance  of  M. 
de  Dalmas,  de  la  maison  dc  r Evipcrcnr.  And  to  prove  the 
utter  worthlessness  of  the  ballot  as  a  protection  in  such  a 
place  as  Louvigne-du-Desert  (and  of  course  there  are  a  vast 
number  of  such  places  in  France),  M.  le  Beschu  declares  that, 
when  a  pauper  who  received  parish  relief  in  the  shape  of  a 
few  loaves  of  bread  weekly,  and  who  had  voted  on  this  occasion 
for  him,  went,  after  the  ballot,  to  get  his  usual  pittance  of  food, 
the  mayor  would  not  let  him  have  any,  but  sent  him  away, 
exclaiming,  '  Va  troiivcr  M.  Ic  BcscJiu  ! ' 

In  one  of  his  circulars  the  prefect  had  directed  the  mayors 
to  inform  him  of  the  number  who  voted  on  the  Sunday  before 
the  next  day's  voting  began,  and  M.  le  Beschu  asserts  that  in 
several  of  the  communes  they  carried  their  zeal  so  far  as  to 
open  the  ballot-box  on  the  Sunday  evening,  and  sent  the  results 
to  the  prefect.  The  boxes  were  then  closed  for  the  operations 
of  the  morrow.  Well  may  he  ask,  '  Deva^it  qui  et  par  qui  cette 
operation  a-t-elle  ete  faitef  and  affirm  that  it  is  in  direct  defi- 
ance of  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  February  2nd,  1852. 

What  shall  we  say,  however,  of  the  following  incident, 
which  also  M.  le  Beschu  offered  to  prove  by  witnesses  before 
the  Corps  Legislatif .'' 

In  one  of  the  communes  the  persons  present  at  the  final 
opening  of  the  ballot-box  were  the  mayor,  an  officer  called 
adjoint,  the  secretary,  and  a  spectator.  Who  this  spectator 
was  does  not  appear  ;  we  simply  give  the  fact  as  M.  le  Beschu 
records  it.  In  the  list  of  the  electors  the  names  of  those  who 
had  actually  voted  were  marked  with  a  cross,  and  the  mayor 
observed  that  the  number  of  these  was  small.  He  took  up 
the  list,  and  as  he  perused  the  names,  he  said,  '  So-and  so  did 
not  come  ;  but  his  intention  was  to  vote  for  M.  de  Dalmas.' 
Thereupon  the  mayor  made  a  cross  beside  the  name,  and  put 
a  ticket  into  the  box.  This  operation  he  repeated  several  times. 
While  he  was  thus  employed,  a  woman  came  into  the  room , 
and  said,  '  Here  is  my  husband's  vote,  which  he  has  sent  me 
to  bring,  as  he  cannot  come  himself  '  All  right,'  answered 
the  mayor,  and  dropped  the  paper  into  the  box,  making  the 


AjV  election  EV  ERANCE.  237 

cross  at  the  same  time  beside  the  absentee's  name.  This  sort 
of  proceeding,  however,  rather  alarmed  one  of  the  assistants, 
who  appears  to  have  had  a  dim  suspicion  that  it  was  not  '  all 
right ; '  and  he  said,  '  But,  Mr.  Mayor  !  what  you  are  doing 
seems  to  be  rather  serious.'  On  which  the  Mayor  replied, 
T  have  received  orders  to  act  thus  ; '  and  of  course  the  objector 
was  silent. 

It  seems,  in  truth,  to  be  one  of  the  incidents  of  the  ballot 
to  manufacture  votes.  Thus,  in  a  case  which  came  before  the 
Tribunal  Corrcctioiid  of  Blanc,  a  town  in  the  department  de 
rindre,  in  the  month  of  August  1858,  the  mayor  of  Blanc 
and  several  other  persons  were  charged  with  various  illegal 
acts  in  the  election  of  a  member  of  the  Conscil general,  which 
had  recently  taken  place ;  and  the  mayor  in  particular  (who, 
it  will  be  remembered,  presides  over  the  voting,  and  has  the 
custody  of  the  ballot-box),  with  having  opened  the  tickets 
which  were  handed  to  him  folded  up  ;  with  having  put  into 
the  box  tickets  for  electors  who  never  came  to  vote  at  all ; 
and  with  having  made  one  elector  vote  twice  over,  and 
allowed  another  to  put  in  a  ticket  for  a  voter  who  was  absent. 

And  lest  it  should  be  supposed  that  this  is  an  extreme 
case,  we  will  mention  another  of  a  still  more  flagrant  character. 
In  a  commune  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Troyes,  w'here  a  M. 
Leopold  Javal  w-as  the  candidate  in  opposition  to  the  Govern- 
ment, when  the  ballot-box  was  opened,  only  three  votes  were 
found  in  it  for  him.  This  caused  considerable  surprise  amongst 
the  electors,  as  on  comparing  notes  they  discovered  that  more 
than  eighty  had  in  reality  given  their  votes  for  him  ;  and  so 
much  was  said  about  the  fraud  that  had  been  practised,  that 
the  mayor  felt  himself  compelled  to  accuse  some  of  the  most 
prominent  of  the  grumblers  before  the  procureur  imperial  of 
defamation.  The  case  came  before  the  Tribunal  Correctionel, 
and  more  than  forty  witnesses  were  examined  on  oath,  who 
all  swore  that  they  had  given  their  votes  for  M.  Javal.  At 
this  stage  of  the  proceedings  the  president  of  the  court  ad- 
dressed the  advocate  of  the  accused,  and  asked  him  whether 
it  was  necessary  to  carry  the  case  further.  He  replied  that  he 
had  by  no  means  exhausted  his  list  of  witnesses,  but  if  the 
court  was  satisfied,  he  was  ;  upon  which  a  judgment  of  acquittal 
was  immediately  pronounced.     We  admire  the  boldness  or 


238  l!:SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

rather  the  effrontery  of  the  mayor  in  challenging  this  inquiry  ; 
but  we  suppose  that  he  hoped  that  the  electors  would  be  afraid 
to  come  forward  and  convict  him  of  the  fraud. 

By  way  of  commentary  upon  such  proceedings  as  we  have 
here  detailed,  and  to  contrast  the  practice  of  universal  suffrage 
in  France  with  the  pompous  theory  of  the  law  on  the  subject, 
we  will  now  quote  one  or  two  passages  from  a  judgment 
delivered  by  the  Cour  de  Cassation  in  January  1857,  i"  which 
the  court  said  : — 

It  is  especially  under  the  empire  of  universal  suffrajre  that  it  is  of  importance 
to  take  care  that  the  exercise  of  the  electoral  right  does  not  degenerate  into  an 
abuse  ;  that  one  of  the  most  momentous  duties  of  civil  life  be  accomplished  loyally, 
without  surprise,  without  fraud,  and  that  the  election  be  the  (result  of)  will  of  all 
those  who  take  part  in  it,  and  not  the  work  of  individuals  without  commission  and 
without  responsibility.  In  thus  explaining  the  law,  the  right  of  the  elector  and 
the  candidate  remains  independent  of  the  Administration,  and  he  may  exercise  it 
in  complete  liberty. 

Brave  words  these — but  quid  prosmit  leges  sine  Dioribus  ? 
What  is  the  use  of  a  written  election  law  to  secure  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  voter,  if  it  is  constantly  violated  in  practice 
by  a  whole  army  of  Government  officials }  The  liberties  of 
France  would  have  a  better  chance  if  the  Emperor  had  the 
legal  right  to  nominate  directly  a  simple  majority  in  the 
Chamber,  and  he  were  to  leave  the  minority  to  the  free  choice 
of  the  electors,  w^ithout  the  slightest  interference  on  the  part  of 
the  prefect  and  his  subordinates.  As  matters  stand  at  present, 
he  returns  his  own  creatures,  under  the  mask  of  deputies 
freely  chosen  by  the  people. 

When  the  ballot-box  was  opened  at  Louvigne-du-Desert, 
although  only  yy  i  persons  had  votes,  it  was  found  that  there 
were  780  tickets  in  the  box,  and  in  almost  every  commune 
similar  discrepancies  occurred.  This  shows  that  there  was 
fraud  somewhere  ;  and  after  the  narrative  of  facts  we  have 
given  we  think  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  decide  whether  it  was 
on  the  part  of  the  voters  or  the  officials.  It  reminds  us  of  a 
passage  in  the  speech  of  the  facetious  deputy  Guerrazzi  in  the 
Sardinian  Parliament  a  short  time  ago,  who  said,  'At  Lavcnzo 
the  number  of  voters  registered  was  402,  and  out  of  the  urn 
came  476  votes.    Talk  of  the  miracle  of  the  loaves  and  fishes  ! ' 

The  final  result  of  the  contest  was  that  M.  dc  Dalmas  was 


AN  ELECTION  IN  FRANCE. 


?39 


returned   by  an   immense    majority  over   M.  le   Bcschu,  tlic 
numbers  being —    • 

For  M.  de  Dalmas  ........   25,590 

For  M.  le  Beschu 2,821 

For  M.  Dreo 996 

The  total  number  of  electors  In  tlie  list  was  39,404,  so  that 
9,997  abstained  from  voting. 

Upon  these  facts  M.  le  Beschu  addressed  a  Protestation  to 
the  Corps  Lcgislatif  against  the  return  of  M.  de  Dalmas,  and 
prayed  the  Chamber  to  annul  the  election  of  a  representative 
in  the  united  arrondissements  of  Fougeres  and  Vitre  that  took 
place  on  December  i8  and  19,  1859.  He  offered  to  prove  by 
witnesses  on  oath,  before  commissioners  to  be  appointed,  the 
facts  which  he  had  averred  in  his  protest,  in  case  the  Chamber 
should  not  consider  the  circulars  of  the  prefect  and  his  sub- 
ordinates, and  the  matters  of  public  notoriety  mentioned  in 
the  protest,  sufficient  to  induce  the  Chamber  to  declare  the 
election  null  and  void. 

M.  le  Beschu's  petition  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  the 
Chamber,  and  a  sort  of  preliminary  inquiry  was  held  by  them, 
at  which  M.  le  Beschu  and  several  other  persons  were  present, 
and  statements  were  made  both  on  behalf  of  the  petitioner 
and  also  of  the  authorities  implicated.  The  result  was  that 
the  committee,  by  a  majority  of  19  to  12,  agreed  to  report 
to  the  Chamber  that  the  commission  of  inquiry  prayed  for 
ought  not  to  be  granted,  and  that  M.  de  Dalmas  should  be 
declared  duly  elected  to  serve  '  for  the  third  electoral  circum- 
scription of  the  department  of  the  Ille-et-Vilaine.'  This  gave 
rise  to  a  spirited  debate,  which  will  be  found  reported  in  the 
'Journal  des  Debats '  of  the  24th  of  March  last,  and  which  is 
well  worthy  a  perusal.  The  report  of  the  committee  went  at 
considerable  length  into  the  allegations  contained  in  M. 
le  Beschu's  protest,  and  declared  that  the  circular  of  M.  Thil, 
the  sub-prefect  of  Fougeres,  which  we  have  quoted  at  length, 
was  regrettable,  and  evinced  a  degree  of  zeal  which  nobody 
could  approve  of  That  it  was,  however,  the  isolated  act  of  a 
public  functionary,  without  authority  from  his  superiors  ;  and 
owing  to  the  late  period  at  which  it  appeared,  it  could  have 
had  no  influence  on  the  result  of  the  election.  That  the  facts 
alleged  by  M.  le  Beschu  were  not  within  his  own  personal 


240  ESSAYS   CIUTJCAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

knowledge,  but  rested  on  the  information  given  him  by  others. 
'  And  what  danger  there  was  to  truth  in  the  passage  from 
mouth  to  mouth  of  such  statements,  and  how  many  alterations 
they  might  have  undergone  before  they  reached  him  ! '  (The 
committee  here  seems  to  have  forgotten  that  M.  le  Beschu's 
application  was  to  have  these  very  statements  verified  upon 
oath  by  persons  who  could  speak  from  personal  knowledge.) 
That  besides,  in  one  particular  affecting  the  Archbishop  of 
Rennes,  M.  le  Beschu  had,  in  the  opinion  of  a  majority  of  the 
committee,  been  shown  to  be  inaccurate,  and  therefore  his 
other  statements  ought  to  be  received  with  great  caution,  as 
founded  on  misapprehension  and  mistake.  Finally,  that  the 
immense  majority  of  M.  de  Dalmas  over  his  opponent  was 
decisive  of  the  question.     They  said — 

A  majority  so  imposing  cannot  be  obtained  on  the  ground  of  abuse  of  authority 
and  intluence.  Individuals  disappear  in  the  infinite  ramifications  of  universal 
suffrage.  [We  are  translating  literally.]  There  remain  only  the  masses,  whom 
it  M'ould  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to  turn  aside  from  the  different  currents  that  draw 
them  in  ;  and  if,  speaking  strictly,  one  could  comprehend  a  system  of  intimida- 
tion capable  of  making  them  abstain  from  voting,  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  an 
intimidation  capable  of  making  them  vote  contraiy  to  their  wishes. 

The  above  was  the  substance  of  the  report,  in  which  not  a 
word  v/as  said  of  the  promises  made,  and  the  inducements 
held  out,  by  the  prefect  and  his  subordinates,  to  the  '  masses ' 
in  the  different  communes,  provided  only  they  voted  right 
{sils  votaicnt  hicn),  and  which,  considering  the  enormous 
amount  of  Government  interference  in  France  with  matters 
which  with  us  are  left  in  the  hands  of  parish  vestries  and  local 
boards,  were  nothing  short  of  bribery  on  the  most  extensive 
scale.  The  conclusion,  however,  at  which  the  committee  had 
arrived  was  vigorously  attacked  in  the  Corps  Lcgislatif  by 
M.  Plichon,  M.  Picard,  and  others  ;  and  M.  Picard,  who  was 
himself  a  member  of  the  committee,  said  that  the  Count 
do  la  Riboisicre,  a  senator  and  president  of  the  Coiiscil general 
of  lUe-et-Vilaine,  had  declared  before  them  that,  during  the 
election,  terror  prevailed  in  the  district  of  Vitre  and  Fougeres, 
and  had  mentioned  facts  that  proved  that  intimidation,  fraud, 
and  bribery  (seduction)  had  been  resorted  to.  But  the  most 
interesting  part  of  the  debate  was  a  speech  made  by  M.  Barochc, 
President  of  the  Council  of  State,  who  enunciated  certain  prin- 
ciples which  go  far  to  explain  the  conduct  of  the  officials  in  the 


-4.V  ELECTION  EV  FRANCE.  241 

particular  case  complained  of,  and  also  to  explain  the  majorities 
which  the  French  Government  is  able  to  obtain  at  elections. 
After  declaring  that  France  was  as  honoured  and  as  free  now 
as  she  had  ever  been,  he  said — 

While  I  proclaim  the  advantages  of  universal  suffrage,!  think  there  would  be 
danger  in  abandoning  it  to  itself,  as  one  of  the  previous  speakers  has  seemed  to 
wish.  During  the  continuance  of  restricted  suffrage,  certain  electoral  colleges  did 
not  contain  more  than  150  voters,  and  sometimes  76  or  80  votes  were  enoiigh  to 
return  a  deputy.  One  can  understand  that  in  presence  of  so  small  a  number  of 
electors,  all  occupying  a  certain  social  position,  there  was  no  room  for  the  inter  - 
vention  of  the  Government.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  on  the  1 8th  and  19th 
of  December  last,  39,000  electors  were  convoked  in  the  department  of  Ille-ct- 
Vilaine  to  choose  a  deputy  ;  and  were  they  to  be  abandoned  to  themselves— that  is  to 
say,  to  all  their  local  passions  ?  The  duty  of  the  Goi'ernment  zoas  to  enlighten  thevi, 
and  it  had  the  right  to  recommend  publicly  the  Government  candidate.  As  a  genera  1 
proposition,  I  admit  that  it  is  a  good  thing  that  places  should  be  represented  by 
men  locally  known  there  ;  but  all  systems  of  electoral  legislation  have  allowed 
that  strangers  may  also  be  chosen.  This  is  especially  necessary  in  the  case  of 
local  quarrels  and  dissensions  ;  and  the  best  mode  of  putting  a  stop  to  them  is  the 
introduction  of  a  candidate  who  is  a  stranger.  If  the  Government  did  not  indi- 
cate its  candidate — if  it  did  not  recommend  him  to  the  electors— if  it  did  not  try 
and  insure  his  success  by  all  honourable  means,  it  would  be  wanting  to  its  own 
rights,  and  would  fail  in  its  duty.  Universal  suffrage  zvhich  declares  itself  luith 
such  an  imposing  appearance  (avec  un  ensemble  si  admirable),  when  he  who  is  to 
be  elected  is  placed  so  high  that  all  feel  and  hiow  the  interest  they  have  in  the  choice 
they  are  about  to  ;;/(?/v— [Oh,  M.  Baroche !  we  know  well  to  whose  election  by 
seven  millions  you  are  now  alluding.]— ^/wzzwja/  suffrage,  I  say,  becomes  less  en- 
lightened in  proportion  as  the peison  to  be  elected  is  neai-er  to  the  electors.  If,  in  that 
case,  local  passions  were  left  without  direction,  universal  suffrage  might  become 
not,  as  some  one  has  improperly  called  it,  an  universal  mystification,  but  a  o-reat 
danger.  The  Administration  has  its  candidate.  Again  I  say,  it  is  rio-ht  and  its 
duty.     I,  the  organ  of  the  Government,  declare  it  without  hesitation. 

The  question  was  put  to  the  vote  (by  ballot)  whether  the 
report  and  recommendation  of  the  committee  should  be 
adopted,  and  there  appeared  123  in  favour  of  it,  and  109 
against  it.'  So  M.  de  Dalmas  was  declared  duly  elected, 
and  the  Soiis-e/ief  djt  Cabinet  tie  VEviperetir  now  sits  in  the 
French  chamber  as  representative  of  the  third  circumscription 
of  the  department  of  Ille-et-Vilaine. 

Although  we  have  selected  the  case  of  M.  le  Beschu  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  a  detailed  account  of  the  proceedings 
at  the  election  at  which  he  was  a  candidate,  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  it  is  an  isolated  or  exceptional  instance.  We 
have  before  us  documents  which  prove  that  the  interference 

'  This  was  a  large  minority,  but  it  was  a  flagrant  one — so  flagrant  that  even 
must  be  remembered  that  the  vote  was  a  submissive  Chamber  could  hardly 
taken  by  ballot.     It  shows  that  the  case      suffer  it  to  pass. 

R 


242  £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

at  elections  of  the  employes  of  Government  in  France,  and  the 
unscrupulous  use  by  them  of  all  the  influence  which  their 
position  gives  them,  is  the  constant  and  habitual  practice.  In 
a  mifinoire  or  'case,'  drawn  up  in  Jime  1S57  by  M.  Jules  Rramc, 
who  was  a  candidate  at  a  general  election  in  the  Department 
du  Nord,  and  whose  opponent  was  M.  Descat,  the  former 
deputy  for  the  district,  we  find  the  prefect,  M.  Bcsson,  ad- 
dressing the  mayors  of  the  electoral  district  in  a  circular,  in 
which  he  said — 

The  Government  of  tlie  Emperor,  to  whom  the  country  owes  its  grandeur  and 
prosperity,  recommends  [dhigne]  M.  Descat  to  the  choice  of  the  electors. 

And  in  another  circular  he  said  that  to  vote  for  M,  Brame 
would  be — 

•  An  unjustifiable  act,  unworthy  of  the  loyalty  of  the  population.  Let  us  not,' 
he  continued,  '  accustom  the  country  to  ingratitude.  It  is  a  pernicious  example, 
which  can  only  compromise  the  future.  The  Government  of  the  Emperor,  in  its 
sense  of  justice  for  services  rendered,  recommends  to  you  M.  Descat.  You  will, 
M.  le  Maire,  I  am  sure,  exert  yourself  to  the  utmost  extent  of  your  power  to  do 

all  that  is  necessary  to  insure  the  success  of  his  election It  must  be  made 

generally  kiicnun  that  opposition  candidates  have  not  the  poiver  to  realise  the  promises 
thcv  make.  It  must  be  made  known  that,  in  rejecting  M.  Descat,  the  electors  are 
voting  against  a  Government  which  has  done  everything  for  their  prosperity,  and 
which  they  would  attempt  to  enfeeble  by  giving  votes  which  would  be  an  act  of 
hostility  towards  it  ....  To  vote  for  M.  Brame  is  to  give  support  to  the 
enemies  of  the  country,  who  are  not  afraid  to  raise  up  their  heads. ' 

In  this  contest  it  was  curious  to  see  the  eagerness  with 
which  both  the  candidates  asserted  themselves  to  be  Protec- 
tionists, and  the  indignation  with  which  each  repelled  the 
calumny  that  he  was  favourable  to  Free  Trade.  Thus  M. 
Descat,  in  an  address  to  the  electors,  said — 

I  am  well  known  to  you  ;  nevertheless,  malevolence  hawks  about  (eolporte) 
calumnies  against  me  with  such  unwearied  pertinacity  that  I  owe  you  an  explana- 
tion. It  is  said  that  I  am  a  P^ree-trader.  It  is  an  icnormity,  against  which  my 
past  life  and  all  my  interests  alike  protest. 

On  the  eve  of  the  election,  M.  Brame  was  attacked  in  an 
article  of  a  local  newspaper,  and  charged  with  having  forged 
a  document  for  electioneering  purposes.  M.  Brame  naturally 
wished  to  give  an  instant  denial  to  so  odious  an  accusation,  but 
he  was  actually  told  by  the  Procureur  Imperial  that  he  was  too 
late,  and  that  as  the  twenty  days  allowed  by  law,  during  which 
time  alone  a  candidate  is  permitted  to  issue  placards  and 
notices   relative  to  his  election,   had  just  expired,   he  could 


AN  ELECTION  IN  FRANCE.  243 

neither  placard  his  denial  on  the  walls,  nor  insert  a  paragraph 
in  the  newspapers,  declaring  that  the  charge  was  false.  So 
that,  according  to  this,  a  man  who  ventures  to  oppose  a  Govern- 
ment candidate  in  France  may,  at  the  most  critical  moment, 
just  before  the  election,  be  made  the  object  of  the  most 
calumnious  attacks — carefully  reserved  until  the  twenty  days 
in  which  he  is  permitted  to  address  the  electors  have  elapsed 
—  and  he  is  not  to  be  allowed  even  the  liberty  of  denyino- 
them. 

Another  ingenious  mode  of  stifling  opposition  at  elections 
is  to  prevent  as  far  as  possible  the  cards  of  the  obnoxious 
candidate  from  getting  into  the  hands  of  the  electors.  This 
is  done  by  attempting  to  put  in  force  the  law  relating  to 
colportage,  and  declaring  that  all  who  distribute  the  cards  or 
tickets  are  acting  as  unlicensed  hawkers,  and  so  are  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanour. 

The  colportage  law  is  part  of  the  Loi  du  27-29  Jiiillct  1849, 
sur  la  Prcssc,  and  is  in  the  following  terms  :  '  All  distributors 
or  hawkers  of  books,  writings,  pamphlets,  engravings,  and 
lithographs,  shall  be  obliged  to  be  furnished  with  an  authority 
(or  licence),  which  shall  be  delivered  to  them  for  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Seine  by  the  prefect  of  police,  and  for  the  other 
departments  by  the  prefects.'  And  the  penalty  of  contra- 
vention is  fine  and  imprisonment.  We  cannot  state  that  any 
French  court  of  justice  has  actually  held  the  distribution  of 
electoral  cards  to  be  within  scope  of  this  law,  but  we  know 
that  individuals  have  been  brought  before  jngcs  dc  paix,  and 
charged  with  it  as  a  penal  offence.  And  in  one  case  a  candi- 
date was  himself  arrested  for  handing  about  his  own  cards  in 
a  market-place !  At  a  late  election  which  took  place  for  the 
arrondissement  of  Pont  de  I'Eveque,  which  embraces  part  of 
the  coast  of  Normandy,  the  report  was  carefully  spread  that 
if  the  Government  candidate  did  not  obtain  an  imposing  ma- 
jority, there  would  be  a  general  impressment  of  seamen,  and 
that  those  who  were  known  to  exert  themselves  for  the  oppo- 
sition candidate,  would  be  compelled  to  sail  in  the  expedition 
to  China.  And  to  such  an  extent  was  the  system  of  Govern- 
ment interference  carried,  that  none  of  the  licensed  victuallers 
{dcbitcurs  de  boissous)  dared  to  receive  the  addresses  and  cards 
of  the  opposition  candidate,  and  they  positively  refused  them. 


244          ASSAYS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

knowing  well  that  they  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  prefect,  who 
could,  if  he  pleased,  make  them  close  their  houses.  In  one 
of  the  communes  of  the  arrondissement  of  Lisieux,  the  com- 
missary of  police  threatened  a  distributor  of  some  opposition 
tickets  on  the  eve  of  an  election,  that  if  he  did  not  desist,  his 
son,  who  was  away  from  his  regiment  on  furlough  on  account 
of  health,  should  be  immediately  recalled  to  active  service, 
and  of  course  the  threat  was  effectual.  Sometimes  opposition 
placards  are  torn  down  by  or  in  presence  of  the  authorities, 
whose  zeal,  although  sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  M.  Thil,  it 
overshoots  the  mark,  is  quickened  by  the  hope  of  thereby  re- 
commending them  to  the  favour  of  Government,  the  absolute 
dispenser  of  every  kind  of  patronage  in  France. 

We  might  go  on  multiplying  such  instances  to  an  indefi- 
nite extent,  but  we  think  we  have  said  enough  to  illustrate 
the  way  in  which  M.  Baroche's  maxim  as  to  the  necessity  of 
not  abandoning  electors  to  themselves,  and  of  enlightening 
them  with  respect  to  the  performance  of  their  duties,  is  prac- 
tically understood  and  carried  out  by  the  authorities  ;  and 
how  universal  suffrage  may  and  does  become  universal  '  mys- 
tification.' We  have  seen  the  enormous  amount  of  influence, 
both  direct  and  indirect,  which  the  Imperial  Government 
brings  to  bear  upon  elections — the  promises,  the  threats,  the 
frauds,  which  are  employed  to  secure  the  return  of  the  Govern- 
ment candidates  ;  and  how,  then,  can  we  accept  the  results  as 
a  fair  test  of  the  political  opinions  of  a  majority  of  the  popu- 
lation .^  When  the  masses  are  told  by  their  prefects,  who  have 
the  power  of  verifying  their  own  predictions,  that  unless  they 
return  a  particular  deputy  the  roads  of  the  commune  will  not 
be  repaired,  and  the  bridges  not  rebuilt,  that  the  parish  church 
will  be  allowed  to  fall  into  decay,  and  no  public  money  will 
be  spent  on  the  district— how  can  we  wonder  that  they  vote  as 
they  are  bid,  and  become  passive  instruments  in  the  hands  of 
Government.  To  us,  wc  confess  it  seems  to  be  little  short  of  a 
miracle  that  any  opposition  should  succeed,  and  we  admire  the 
moral  courage  of  the  men  who  venture  to  confront  the  serried 
phalanx  of  officials,  with  all  their  machinery  of  power,  patron- 
age, and  means  of  annoyance  at  command.  They  run  in  a  race 
where  the  competitors  arc  so  unfairly  weighted  as  to  make  the 
chance  of  victory  on  the  side  of  opposition  almost  impossible. 


AN  ELECTION  IN  ERANCE.  245 

But  it  may  be  said  that  opposition  members  do  sit  in  the 
Corps  L cgislat if— 2ind  how  did  they  get  there  if  the  system  at 
elections  is  such  as  we  have  described  ?  We  answer  first,  that 
it  would  not  serve  the  purpose  of  the  Imperial  Government 
not  to  have  even  the  shov/  of  an  opposition  in  the  Chamber — 
that  would  be  too  transparent  a  mockery ;  and,  secondly,  public 
opinion  is  not  so  utterly  powerless  and  dead  in  France  as  to 
make  it  safe  to  attempt  such  practices  in  the  larger  towns. 
It  is  therefore  quite  consistent  with  all  we  have  here  stated, 
that  M.  Emile  OUivier  should  be  elected  in  Paris,  and  M.  le 
Beschu  de  Champsavin  rejected  in  Brittany. 

We  will,  in  conclusion,  quote  one  or  two  passages  from  the 
writings  of  the  present  French  Emperor,  which  deserve  to  be 
carefully  studied,  as  containing  the  opinions  of  a  man  who,  more 
than  any  other  in  Europe,  has  the  power  to  convert  his  ideas 
into  facts.  In  a  short  essay  on  the  electoral  system  which  he 
published  in  1840,  in  '  L'Idee  Napoleonienne,'  intended  to  be 
a  monthly  periodical,  but  of  vvhich  only  one  number  ever  ap- 
peared, after  proposing  a  system  of  electoral  colleges  based 
on  universal  suffrage,  he  says  : — 

In  a  well-organised  body  two  contrary  currents  must  always  be  perceptible  ; 
one  rising  from  the  base  to  the  summit,  the  other  descending  from  the  summit  to 
the  base. 

This  influence  of  the  Government,  which  must  be  felt  in  the  lowest  classes  of 
the  people,  and  the  authority  of  popular  will,  which  even  the  head  of  the  State 
must  acknowledge,  must  act  and  react  by  mutual  degrees  in  the  ascending  as  in 
the  descending  current. 

When  the  people  vote  in  a  body  in  the  public  street,  and  give  their  suffrage 
directly,  it  is  as  if  all  the  blood  of  the  body  rose  to  the  head,  and  the  consequence 
is  discomfort,  congestion,  giddiness. 

Even  the  interests  of  the  people  are  inadequately  represented,  because  reflec- 
tion and  judgment  have  no  influence  over  the  elections  ;  only  passion  and  excite- 
ment of  the  moment  direct  the  vote. 

A  striking  example  of  this  truth  presents  itself  in  the  democracy  of  the  Swiss 
cantons.  The  people  assemble  in  a  body  on  the  public  place  to  choose  their 
representatives  ;  yet,  though  they  enjoy  the  plentitude  of  power,  the  retrogressive 
spirit  is  firmly  implanted  in  the  minds  of  the  people  in  their  Swiss  cantons.  There 
is  no  ancient  prejudice  which  they  do  not  sanction  in  their  popular  assemblies, 
and  no  improvement  which  they  do  not  reject. 

In  France  just  the  contrary  takes  place.  In  our  election  sysiein,  founded  on 
fear  and  privilege,  the  influence  of  the  Goz'ermnent  acts  directly  on  the  people,  and  this 
influence,  zvhich  might  nevertheless  he  enlightened  and  protective,  acts  by  corrupting 
the  consciettces  of  the  people,  by  deceitful  promises,  by  making  a  real  political  traffic 
of  the  votes  of  the  citizens. 

Such  is  the  character  given  by  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  of 


246  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  action  of  the  Government  on  the  electoral  system  twenty 
years  ago.  It  then,  according  to  him,  corrupted  consciences 
and  trafficked  in  votes.  At  the  present  moment,  Napoleon  III. 
wishes  the  world  to  believe  that  under  the  Imperial  regime  it 
is  '  enlightened  and  protective.'  But,  after  the  facts  we  have 
adduced,  we  leave  it  to  everyone  who  reads  this  article  to 
declare  whether  the  Emperor  has  not,  in  the  above  passage, 
pronounced  his  own  condemnation,  and  given  a  true  descrip- 
tion of  the  system  now  practised  in  France  ;  and  whether 
universal  suffrage  and  vote  by  ballot  in  that  country  are  not 
*  a  mockery,  a  delusion,  and  a  snare.' 


247 


A  JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO  LAND} 

'Quarterly  Review,'  1867. 

When  Mr,  Du  Chaillu  published,  in  1861,  his  'Explorations 
in  Equatorial  Africa,'  the  book  met,  in  several  quarters,  with 
an  unfavourable,  not  to  say  hostile  reception.  Some  of  his 
critics  went  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  work  was  a  fiction,  and 
that  the  author  had  not  travelled  in  the  interior  of  Africa  at 
all.  It  is  not  necessary  to  confute  insinuations  which  nobody 
now  pretends  to  believe  ;  but  we  do  not  deny  that  the  volume 
was  open  to  adverse  criticism,  and  that  the  narrative  involved 
contradictions  which  it  was  difficult  to  explain.  There  was  a 
confusion  of  dates,  and  also  a  confusion  of  journeys,  which 
made  it  difficult  to  explain  some  points  of  the  narrative,  and 
certainly  the  most  was  made  of  these  discrepancies  and  mis- 
takes. We  who  had  examined  Mr.  Du  Chaillu's  original 
journals  never  doubted  for  a  moment  the  main  truth  of  his 
narrative,  although  we  saw  that,  owing  to  the  manipulation  of 
a  literary  hand  in  preparing  his  book  in  America,  his  published 
work  mixed  together  separate  journeys,  and  betrayed  a 
strangely  involved  chronology.  It  was  on  these  grounds  that 
the  maps  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Barth  and  Dr.  Petermann  in  1862 
moved  all  the  positions  of  the  places  he  had  visited  much 
nearer  the  coast  than  he  had  fixed  them,  so  as  to  reduce 
greatly  the  length  of  his  routes.  We  all  know  how  the  accounts 
of  the  gorilla  were  discredited  by  those  who  had  never  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  the  animal's  habits,  as  only  one  or 
two  stuffed  specimens  had  reached  the  museums  of  Europe. 
Some  writers  asserted  that  INIr.  Du  Chaillu  had  never  seen  the 
creature  alive,  and  that  the  specimens  he  brought  or  sent  to 

'  A  Journey  to  Ashaiigo  Laud  ami     Africa.        By    Paul    B.     Du    Chaillu. 
flirt  Iter     Fillet  ration     into     Equatorial      London  :   1867. 


248  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

England  had  been  purchased  by  hhii  from  natives  on  the 
coast.  Several  naturalists  declared  that  the  habits  he  ascribed 
to  the  strange  brute — such  as  that  of  beating  its  breast  vio- 
lently when  enraged — were  contrary  to  all  experience  of  the 
ape  tribe,  and  incredible.  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  the  first  to 
make  known  to  geographers  the  existence  of  the  Fans,  a 
cannibal  tribe,  who  in  recent  times,  have  rapidly  made  their 
way  from  the  interior,  urged  by  the  thirst  for  trade  and 
European  commodities,  and  have  now  actually  reached  the 
coast.  But  their  very  existence  was  denied  ;  and  the  state- 
ment that  some  of  the  native  African  harps  had  strings  made 
of  vegetable  fibre  was  declared  to  be  false. 

Under  such  imputations  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  unwilling  to 
rest,  and  he  resolved  to  confute  his  opponents  by  the  logic  of 
facts,  that  is,  by  undertaking  another  journey  into  the  interior 
of  Africa  and  furnishing  himself  with  materials  to  prove  con- 
clusively the  substantial  truth  of  his  former  narrative.  It  is 
impossible  not  to  admire  the  courage  and  enterprise  he  has 
shown,  and  we  think  also  that  he  deserves  the  highest  credit 
for  the  forgiving  and  generous  tone  in  which  he  speaks  of  his 
assailants.  He  says  in  his  Preface  to  the  new  work  which  we 
propose  to  review, — 

Although  hurt  to  the  quick  by  these  unfair  and  ungenerous  criticisms,  I 
cherished  no  mahce  towards  my  detractors,  for  I  knew  the  time  would  come  when 
the  truth  of  all  that  was  essential  in  the  statements  which  had  been  disputed 
would  be  made  clear  ;  I  was  consoled  besides  by  the  support  of  many  eminent 
m  en,  who  refused  to  believe  that  my  narrative  and  observations  were  deliberate 
falsehoods.  Making  no  pretensions  to  infallibility,  any  more  than  other  travellers, 
I  was  ready  to  acknowledge  any  mistake  that  I  might  have  fallen  into,  in  the 
course  of  compiling  my  book  from  my  rough  notes.  The  only  revenge  I  cherished 
was  that  of  better  preparing  myself  for  another  journey  into  the  same  region,  pro- 
viding myself  with  instruments  and  apparatus  which  I  did  not  possess  on  my  first 
exploration,  and  thus  being  enabled  to  vindicate  my  former  account  by  facts  not 
to  be  controverted. 

The  result,  as  regards  the  establishment  of  Mr.  Du  Chaillu's 
character  for  veracity,  has  been  most  satisfactory;  and  we  set 
so  high  a  value  on  the  character  of  every  man  who  labours  to 
enlighten  the  world,  as  to  deem  this  one  gain  not  dearly  pur- 
chased by  the  heavy  losses  and  bitter  disappointments  in 
which  Mr.  Du  Chaillu's  second  expedition  has  ended. 

Meanwhile  Dr.  Petermann  had  made  the  amende  honorable 
with  regard  to  the  position  of  the  places  which  Mr.  Du  Chaillu 


A   JOURNEY  TO  ASfT.LVGO  LAND.  249 

had  formerly  visited  ;  for,  in  1802,  a  French  Government  expe- 
dition, under  Messrs.  Serval  and  Griffon  Du  Bellay,  explored  the 
Ogobai  river,  and  not  only  proved  the  truth  of  the  traveller's 
general  account  of  it,  but  showed  that  the  Ashira  Country  was 
not  far  from  the  longitude  which  he  had  assigned  to  it'  Dr. 
Petermann,  on  receiving  the  French  map,  reconstructed  his 
own  as  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  had  originally  laid  it  down.  As  to  the 
Fans,  Captain  Burton  confirmed  his  statement,  after  having 
actually  travelled  amongst  them  ;  and  the  French  officers 
proclaim  that  their  cannibal  appetites  are  only  too  well 
authenticated,  adding  the  fact  of  their  recent  apparition  and 
migration  towards  the  sea-coast.  In  his  second  expedition, 
Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  not  only  able  to  observe  the  gorilla  in  the 
woods,  but  he  obtained  several  fine  specimens  from  the  nativ^es, 
and  one  of  them  he  shipped  for  England  alive,  but  unfor- 
tunately it  died  on  the  passage.  He  sent  to  England  harps 
w^ith  vegetable  strings,  and  they  of  course  speak  for  themselves. 
In  his  former  travels  he  had  described  a  new  kind  of  otter-like 
animal  to  which  the  name  oi  Potamogalc  veloxwdiS  given  ;  and 
he  brought  home  with  him  its  skin,  which  w^as  all  that  he  was 
then  able  to  procure.  It  was  asserted  tliat  the  animal  which 
owned  the  skin  did  not  belong  to  the  order  under  which  otters 
are  classed,  and  was  a  rodent ;  but  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  have  his  conjecture  entirely  established  by 
the  Professor  of  Natural  History  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh: moreover,  he  obtained  in  his  last  journey  several 
specimens  of  the  Potamogalc,  and  they  entirely  confirm  his 
opinion.  He  has  answered  the  doubts  and  insinuations 
which  were  so  unscrupulously  thrown  upon  his  claims  as  a 
discoverer  in  Natural  History,  by  adding  to  the  Fauna  of 
Africa  at  least  eighty  new  species.  But  the  best  vindication 
of  all  is  the  series  of  carefully-made  solar  and  lunar  obseiva- 
tions — amounting  to  several  hundreds — which  he  has  brought 
home,  and  committed  to  the  officers  of  Greenwich  Observatoiy, 
by  whom  they  have  been  reduced  and  tested  with  the  most 
satisfactory  results  ;  so  that  the  principal  points  of  his  journey 

'  In  an  article  on  Lc  Gabon  in  '  Le  c'est  que  son  livre  contient  beaucoup  de 

Tour  du  Monde'    (1865),  p.   278,  Dr.  details  d'une  parfaite  exactitude,  et  plus 

Griffon    Du    Bellay   says    of    Mr.    Du  d'une    pcinture    de    mccurs    recllement 

Chaillu,     '  Ce   que    je    puis    affirmer,  prises  sur  le  vi(".' 


2  50         £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

are  now  laid  down  on  the  map  with  unerring  accuracy.  Here 
is  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  to  justify  the  countenance 
and  encouragement  which  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  received  at  first 
from  such  a  geographer  as  Murchison,  and  such  a  naturalist 
as  Owen.  As  in  all  similar  cases,  the  stones  wantonly,  if  not 
maliciously,  thrown  at  an  unknown  man,  have  helped  to  raise 
the  pedestal  of  his  subsequent  fame  ;  and  were  Mr.  Du 
Chaillu  less  generous  than  he  is,  he  could  afford  to  forgive 
the  detractors  who  have  goaded  him  to  new  efforts,  and  made 
him  as  accurate  as  he  v/as  already  earnest  in  his  work. 

These  feelings  may  be  traced  in  Mr.  Du  Chaillu's  state- 
ment of  his  objects  in  this  second  journey: — 

I  had  also  a  strong  desire  to  fix  with  scientific  accuracy  the  geographical 
position  of  the  places  I  had  already  discovered,  and  to  vindicate  by  fresh  observa- 
tions, and  the  acquisition  of  further  specimens,  the  truth  of  the  remarks  I  had 
published  on  the  ethnology  and  natural  history  of  the  country.  Beyond  this  there 
was  the  vague  hope  of  being  able  to  reach  in  the  far  interior  some  unknown 
western  tributary  of  the  Nile,  and  to  descend  liy  it  to  the  great  river,  and  thence 
to  the  Mediterranean. 

He  took  great  pains  to  qualify  himself  for  the  successful 
prosecution  of  his  task.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  all  scien- 
tific instruments  on  his  former  journey,  he  had  laid  down  the 
positions  of  places  by  compass  bearings  only,  and  this  made 
it  the  more  difficult  to  defend  himself  against  attacks  on  his 
accuracy.  But  he  now  prepared  himself  by  going  through  a 
course  of  instruction  in  the  use  of  instruments,  and  the  mode 
of  taking  astronomical  observations.  He  also  took  lessons  in 
the  art  of  photography,  providing  himself  with  an  ample  store 
of  materials  in  order  to  bring  back  faithful  sun-pictures  of  the 
scenery,  natives,  and  animals  of  the  unknown  regions  he  in- 
tended to  explore — all  of  which,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel, 
were  unfortunately  lost. 

He  freighted  a  small  schooner  called  the  '  Mentor,'  and 

sailed  in  her  from  England  for  the  coast  of  Africa  on  August 

6,  1863.     He  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Fernand  Vaz  river 

on  October  10,  and  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  warmly  he  was 

welcomed    by   the  African    chiefs    whom    he   had    formerly 

known.     One  of  them  who  came  on  board  hugged  him  in  his 

greasy  arms  and  exclaimed — 

"Are  you  Chaillie,  or  are  you  his  spirit?  Have  you  come  from  the  dead?  Tell 
me  quick,  for  I  don't  know  whether  I  am  to  believe  my  own  eyes  ;  perhaps  I  am 

getting  a  fool." 


A   JOURNEY  TO  ASHAA'GO   LAND.  251 

But  now  came  the  first  of  a  series  of  misfortunes  which 
Mr.  Du  Chaihu  had  to  endure,  and  which  brought  his  expe- 
dition at  last  to  a  disastrous  end.  One  of  the  causes  which 
have  shut  out  explorers  from  this  part  of  the  African  coast  is 
the  want  of  harbours,  and  the  savage  surf  that  fringes  the 
shore.  The  whole  breadth  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  was  one 
uninterrupted  line  of  breakers,  through  which  it  was  necessary 
to  land  the  cargo  in  native  boats.  In  one  of  them  he  placed 
all  his  scientific  instruments  and  many  other  \-aluable  articles, 
and,  accompanied  by  the  Captain,  embarked  himself  in  the 
canoe,  which  was  soon  swamped  by  the  waves.  It  was  with 
some  difficulty  that  their  lives  were  saved  by  the  negroes, 
who,  as  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  says,  '  swam  under  me  and  buoyed 
me  up  with  their  own  bodies.'  But  all  the  astronomical  in- 
struments were  spoilt  by  the  salt-water,  and  with  them  went 
the  power  of  effecting  the  principal  object  of  the  journey.  We 
can  hardly  imagine  a  more  bitter  disappointment  than  this. 
However,  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  all  that  he  could  do 
was  to  send  to  England  for  a  second  set  of  instruments,  and 
to  wait  patiently  until  it  arrived. 

The  region  which  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  about  to  explore 
lies  between  the  first  and  second  degrees  of  south  latitude,  and 
he  intended  to  proceed  eastward  across  the  continent  in  almost 
a  straight  line  from  the  coast.     He  says  : — 

Equatorial  Africa  from  the  western  coast,  as  far  as  I  have  been,  is  covered 
with  an  ahnost  impenetrable  jungle.  The  jungle  begins  where  the  sea  ceases  to 
beat  its  continual  waves,  and  how  much  further  this  woody  belt  o.tends  further 
explorations  alone  will  be  able  to  show.  From  my  furthest  point  it  extended 
east%\ard  as  far  as  my  eyes  could  reach.  I  may  say,  however,  that  near  the  banks 
of  a  large  river  running  from  a  north-east  direction  towards  the  south-west 
prairie  lands  were  to  be  seen  according  to  the  accounts  the  Ashangos  had  received. 

The  difficulties  which  beset  the  traveller  who  tries  to  pene- 
trate into  the  interior  are  almost  insuperable.  Independently 
of  the  harbourless  and  serf-bound  coast,  the  deadly  climate,  and 
the  hostility  of  savage  tribes,  there  is  the  supposed  necessity 
of  carrying  an  immense  quantity  of  presents  to  propitiate  the 
different  African  chiefs.  A  white  man  must  literally  buy  his 
way  with  goods  as  he  proceeds,  and  he  becomes,  of  course, 
poorer,  as  he  advances,  so  that  it  seems  as  if  he  must  at  last 
necessarily  stop  when  he  is  farthest  from  the  coast,  and  when 
it   is   most   essential    to   satisfy  the  rapacity   of   the   natives. 


252  £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Perhaps  the  most  prudent  course  would  be  not  to  carry  pre- 
sents at  all,  as  they  only  excite  the  cupidity  of  the  negroes. 
And  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  kindly  treated  by  the  natives  on 
his  return  when  he  had  lost  everything.  For  the  transport  of 
goods  there  are  no  beasts  of  burden  ;  neither  horses  nor  camels 
nor  asses  nor  oxen.  The  only  domesticated  animals  are  goats 
and  fowls,  and  the  only  carriers  of  loads  are  the  blacks  them- 
selves. They  use  for  this  purpose  long  narrow  baskets  called 
otaitais,  which  rest  on  the  back,  and  are  secured  to  the  liead 
and  arm  of  the  bearer  by  straps  m.ade  of  strong  plaited  rushes. 
Mr.  Du  Chaillu's  baggage  required  at  starting  not  fewer  than 
a  hundred  porters,  and  infinite  was  the  trouble  and  difficulty 
he  had  with  the  various  relays  which  succeeded  each  other  in 
his  march.  But  he  was  fortunate  in  his  body-guard  of  ten 
negroes,  of  the  Commi  tribe  on  the  coast,  who  behaved  ad- 
mirably throughout,  and  to  whom  his  return  in  safety  was 
entirely  owing.      He  says  : — 

I  chose  for  my  body-guard  ten  faithful  negroes,  some  of  whom  had  accom- 
panied me  on  my  former  journey.  It  was  on  these  men  that  my  own  safely 
among  the  savage  and  unfriendly  tribes  we  might  expect  to  meet  with  in  the  far 
interior  depended.  I  knew  I  could  thoroughly  rely  upon  them,  and  that  come 
what  might  they  would  never  hurt  a  hair  of  my  head. 

While  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  fresh  instruments  from 
England,  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  made  several  excursions  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  coast.  The  m.ost  important  of  these 
were  to  the  wooded  country  which  lies  to  the  south-east  of 
Cape  St.  Catherine,  and  which  he  believes  is  '  the  head-quar- 
ters of  the  gorilla  or  the  district  in  which  he  exists  in  the 
greatest  number,  but  where  he  is  wildest  and  most  difficult  to 
get  near.'  Here  suddenly  one  morning  he  came  upon  a  party 
of  four  of  these  brutes. 

They  were  all  busily  engaged  in  tearing  down  tlie  larger  trees.  One  of  the 
females  had  a  young  one  following  her.  I  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  watch- 
ing the  movements  of  the  impish-looking  band.  Thcsh.aggy  hides,  the  protuberant 
aMomens,  the  hideous  features  of  these  strange  creatures,  whose  forms  so  nearly 
resemble  man,  made  up  a  picture  like  a  vision  in  sonic  morbid  dream.  In  destroy- 
ing a  tree  they  first  grasped  the  base  of  the  stem  with  one  of  their  feet,  and  then 
with  their  powerful  arms  pulled  it  down,  a  matter  of  not  much  difiiculty  with  so 
loosely  formed  a  stem  as  that  of  the  plaintain.  They  then  set  upon  the  juicy 
heart  of  the  tree  at  the  bases  of  the  leaves  and  devoured  it  with  great  voracity. 
While  eating  they  made  a  kind  of  clucking  noise  expressive  of  contentment. 

Shortly  afterwards,  v.'hcn  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  had  returned  to 


yl    yOURXEY  TO   ASIIAXGO  LAXD.  -53 

the  mouth  of  the  Fernand  Vaz  river,  three  hvc  gorillas  v.-cre 
captured  by  the  natives  and  brought  to  him.  One  of  these 
was  a  large  full-grown  female,  another  her  baby,  the  third  a 
vigorous  young  male.  The  first  two  soon  died,  for  the  mother 
had  been  severely  wounded,  and  her  young  one  only  survived 
her  three  days.  But  the  male  gorilla  was  christened  Tom,  and 
sent  on  board  ship,  consigned  to  Messrs.  Baring  in  London. 
He  died,  however,  on  the  passage,  most  probably  of  a  broken 
heart,  for  the  species  seems  to  be  untameable,  and  captivity 
fills  them  with  uncontrollable  rage.  At  a  later  period  of  his 
journey  ]\Ir.  Du  Chaillu  came  suddenly  in  the  forest  upon  a 
whole  group  of  gorillas  disporting  themselves  amongst  the 
trees,  but  he  did  not  happen  to  have  his  rifle  in  his  hand,  and 
they  escaped  unharmed.  Before  quitting  the  subject,  we  may 
mention  that  he  is  now  of  opinion  that  gorillas  and  not  chim- 
panzees, as  he  was  formerly  inclined  to  think,  were  the  animals 
seen  and  captured  by  the  Carthaginians  under  Hanno,  as  re- 
lated in  the  *  Periplus.'  '  Even  the  name  "  gorilla,"  given  to 
the  animal  in  the  "  Periplus,"  is  not  very  greatly  different  from 
its  native  name  at  the  present  day,  "  ngina "  or  "  ngilla," 
especially  in  the  indistinct  way  in  which  it  is  sometimes  pro- 
nounced.' In  one  of  his  preliminary  excursions  he  discovered 
and  caught  two  specimens  of  a  new  species  of  animal  called 
the  Ipi  or  scaly  Ant-eater,  belonging  to  the  pangolin  genus 
(^Majiis  of  zoologists),  which  lives  in  burrows  in  the  earth,  or 
sometimes  in  the  large  hollows  of  colossal  trunks  of  trees  that 
have  fallen  on  the  ground.  One  of  their  skeletons  is  now  in 
the  collection  of  the  British  INIuseum.' 

At  last,  in  September,  1864,  ]\Ir.  Du  Chaillu  had  received 
his  new  supply  of  instruments  from  England,  and  at  the  end 
of  that  month  he  started  on  his  exploration  into  the  interior. 
It  will  give  some  idea  of  the  difficulty  he  had  to  encounter  in 

'  The  skeleton  of  another  animal,  founds  his  measurement,  and  the  skull 
very  similar  to  the  Ipi  of  Mr.  Du  of  which  he  figured,  I  have  ascertained, 
Chaillu,  was  brought  afterwards  to  Eng-  by  my  own  examination  in  the  Britisii 
land,  and  was  said  to  have  been  found  Aluseum,  is  not  the  one  said  to  be  re- 
in the  neighbourhood  of  the  river  Niger.  ceived  from  the  Niger,  but  the  specimen 
It  was  described  by  Dr.  Gray  in  the  which  I  sent.  Tiie  Niger  specimen  is 
'  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society,'  very  much  smaller.  1  mention  this, 
April,  1865,  under  the  name  of  PJwli-  because  Dr.  Gray,  doubtless  through 
dotus  Africanits.  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  says  inadvertency,  has  omitted  to  mention 
'  The  specimen  of  Pholidotus  Afrkanus,  my  name  at  all  in  connection  with  the 
on  which  the  describer  of  the  species  species.' 


254        £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  transport  of  his  goods,  when  we  mention  that  he  had  no 
less  than  forty-seven  large  chests  filled  with  them,  besides  ten 
boxes  containing  his  photographic  apparatus  and  chemicals, 
and  fifty  voluminous  bundles  of  miscellaneous  articles  :  in  fact, 
a  load  for  a  hundred  men.  He  dressed  his  body-guard  of  ten 
Commi  negroes  in  thick  canvas  trousers,  blue  woollen  shirts, 
and  worsted  caps,  and  each  man  had  a  blanket  to  keep  him 
warm  at  night. 

He  had,  however,  been  nearly  prevented  from  setting  out 
on  his  expedition  at  all.  During  his  absence  in  Europe,  the 
chiefs  of  the  clans  on  the  coast  had  met  and  passed  a  law  that 
no  Mpongwe  (the  trading  tribe  of  the  Gaboon),  or  white  man, 
should  be  allowed  to  ascend  the  river  Fernand  Vaz  or  the 
Ogobai. 

It  is  the  universal  nile  amongst  the  coast  tribes  of  West  Africa  to  prevent  if 
possible,  all  strangers  from  penetrating  into  the  interior,  even  if  it  be  only  to  the 
next  tribe,  through  fear  that  they  should  lose  the  exclusive  privilege  of  trading 
with  these  tribes.  Indeed,  every  tribe  tries  to  prevent  all  strangers  from  com- 
municating with  the  tribe  next  in  advance  of  them. 

It  was  necessary  to  get  this  law  repealed,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1863,  a  grand  palaver  was  held  on  the  subject  in  the 
village  where  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  staying.  One  of  the  most 
important  chiefs,  called  Olenga-Yombi,  a  notorious  drunkard, 
who  presided  at  the  meeting,  had  been  propitiated  by  the 
present  of  a  very  long  blue  coat,  the  tails  of  which  dangled 
about  his  ancles  when  he  walked,  and  a  light  yellow  waistcoat 
with  gilt  buttons.  The  debate  took  place  in  the  Council- 
house  of  the  village,  a  large  open  shed,  where  chairs  were 
placed  for  the  principal  speakers.  The  result  was  that  Mr. 
Du  Chaillu  was  made  free  of  the  river,  while  the  Mpongwe 
trader  was  still  rigorously  excluded.  The  speakers  argued 
that  the  white  man  did  not  go  into  the  interior  to  trade,  but 
to  .shoot  animals  and  bring  away  the  .skins  and  bones. 
'  Truly,'  they  said,  '  we  do  not  know  what  Chaillie  has  in  his 
stomach  to  want  such  things,  but  we  must  let  him  go.' 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  1864,  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  started 
on  his  journey.  He  first  proceeded  in  two  canoes  up  the 
Fernand  Vaz  river,  and  then  up  the  Rembo  and  Ovenga 
rivers  as  far  as  the  village  of  Obindji,  where  his  overland  route 
was  to  commence.     Here  the  porters  assembled  who  had  been 


A  JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO  LAND.  255 

sent  from  the  Ashira  country  by  king  Olcnda  to  carry  the 
baggage  ;  but  instead  of  a  hundred  porters,  which  was  the 
least  number  required,  there  were  only  fifty.  He  was  there- 
fore obHged  to  send  only  half  of  the  loads  forward,  and  to 
wait  for  the  return  of  the  men  to  carry  the  other  half  A 
friendly  old  chief,  named  Ouengueza,  who  accompanied  him 
from  the  coast,  addressed  the  body-guard  of  Commi  negroes 
before  leaving  Obindji,  and  gave  them  some  excellent  advice. 
He  told  them  to  look  up  to  '  Chaillic'  as  their  chief,  and  obey 
him.  He  warned  them  not  to  touch  plantains  or  ground  nuts 
lying  on  the  road,  or  in  the  street  of  a  village,  for  this  showed 
that  it  was  a  *  tricky  village,'  and  the  temptation  was  intended 
as  a  trap. 

When  a  house  is  given  to  you  in  any  village  keep  to  that  house  and  go  into 
no  other  :  and  if  you  see  a  seat  do  not  sit  upon  it,  for  these  are  seats  which  none 
but  the  owners  can  sit  upon.     But  above  all  beware  of  the  women. 

After  marching  across  a  wild,  hilly,  and  w^ooded  country, 
the  party  emerged  on  the  undulating  grass  land  of  Ashira, 
which  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  has  described  in  his  former  volume,^ 
and  arrived  at  the  village  of  Olenda  on  the  19th  of  November. 
Here  he  determined  to  try  and  visit  the  Falls  of  Samba 
Nagoshi,  which  are  in  the  Ngouyai  river,  north  of  Olenda,  and 
which  he  had  in  vain  attempted  to  reach  on  his  previous 
journey.  His  route  lay  parallel  to  the  Ovigui  river,  which 
flows  into  the  Ngouyai,  and  after  two  or  three  days'  march 
through  forest  and  swamp,  he  embarked  in  a  leaky  rotten 
canoe,  not  far  from  the  point  of  confluence  of  the  two  rivers. 
The  Ngouyai  is  a  fine  large  river  flowing  northwards,  which 
Mr.  Du  Chaillu  discovered  on  his  former  journey,  and  when 
he  now  entered  it  he  was,  he  says,  up  to  this  time  the  only 
white  man  who  had  ever  embarked  on  its  waters. 

The  Ovigui,  at  its  junction  with  the  Ngouyai,  is  about  thirty-five  yards  broad, 
and  is  at  this  time  of  the  year  (the  rainy  season)  a  deep  stream.  The  banks  are 
clothed  with  uninterrupted  forest,  leaving  only  little  entrances  here  and  there  at 
the  ports  of  the  villages  which  lie  backwards  from  the  river.  Silence  and 
monotony  reign  over  the  landscape,  unenlivened  by  the  flight  and  song  of  birds  or 
the  movement  of  animals. 

On  approaching, the  rapids  below  the  falls,  the  party  left 
the  canoe,  and  scrambled  along  the  bank.     A  rocky  island  in 

'    'Adventures  in  Equatorial  Africa,'  chap.  xxiv. 


256  / SS A  KS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  middle  of  the  river  breaks  the  rush  of  the  water  into  two 
unequal  parts,  and  the  height  of  the  cataract  is  only  about 
fifteen  feet.     Mr.  Du  Chaillu  says  : — 

The  sight  was  wild,  grand,  and  beautiful  ;  but  it  did  not  quite  impress  me 
with  the  awe  that  the  rapids  below  inspired.  We  see  here  the  river  Ngouyai 
after  flowing  through  the  Apingi  valley  in  the  interior,  and  receiving  the  waters 
of  the  Ovigui  and  many  other  streams,  bursting  through  the  barrier  of  the  hilly 
ranr^e  which  separates  the  interior  of  Africa  from  the  coast  land.  The  high 
ridges  which  have  been  broken  through  by  the  river  rise  on  each  side,  covered 
with  varied  forest,  and  the  shattered  fragments  encumber  the  bed  of  the  stream 
for  miles. 

On  his  return  to  Olenda,  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  found  trouble 
awaiting  him.  One  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Apingi  tribe,  whose 
villages  lay  in  the  line  of  his  intended  route,  had  died  during 
his  absence,  and  the  cry  arose  that  the  stranger  was  the  cause 
of  bis  death  through  witchcraft.  The  result  was  that,  after  a 
grand  palaver  it  w^as  decided  that  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  should  pass 
through  the  Otando  country,  which  lies  to  the  south  of  the 
Apingi,  and  a  message  w^as  sent  to  the  Otando  chief  apprising 
him  of  the  proposed  visit,  and  requesting  him  to  send  a  party 
of  men  to  Olenda  to  assist  in  carrying  the  baggage.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  a  terrible  calamity  occurred.  The  small- 
pox broke  out  with  fearful  violence  among  the  people  of 
Olenda,  and  they  declared  that  the  v.hite  man  was  an  evil 
spirit,  who  had  brought  the  plague,  or  cviva,  as  they  called  it, 
amongst  them.  Old  king  Ouengueza  stood  gallantly  by  his 
friend,  and  asked  them  whether  he,  the  king,  who  held  the 
passage  of  the  Rembo  river,  had  come  with  his  white  man 
into  the  bush  amongst  these  pigs  of  Ashira  to  be  cursed  .-' 
He  was  urged  by  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  to  return  to  his  own  coun- 
try, but  he  refused  to  leave  him  in  the  hour  of  difficulty  and 
danger,  saying,  '  Chaillie  I  cannot  go  back.  I  came  to  see 
you  through  this  country,  and  I  should  feel  shame  to  leave 
you  in  your  troubles.  What  would  the  Commi  people  say  } 
They  would  laugh  at  me,  and  say,  Qucngueza  had  no  power 
to  help  Chaillie  on  his  way.  No,  I  shall  not  leave  you  ! '  At 
last,  however,  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  persuaded  him  to  go,  and  he 
was  left  alone  with  his  little  band  of  Commi  negroes.  They  were 
soon  attacked  by  the  disease,  which  spread  like  a  destroying 
angel  through  the  villages,  and  at  last  king  Olenda  himself 
sickened  and   died.     Famine  followed  in  its  train,   and  the 


A   JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO  LAND.  257 

natives  cursed   the  traveller  as  the    author   of  their   misfor- 
tunes. 

'The  once  cheerful  prairie  of  Ashira,'  he  says,  'had  now  become  a  gloomy 
valley  of  the  dead  ;  each  village  was  a  charnel  house — wherever  I  walked  the 
most  heartrending  sights  met  my  view.  The  poor  victims  of  the  loathsome 
disease  in  all  its  worst  stages  lay  about  in  sheds  and  huts  ;  there  were  hideous 
sores  filled  with  maggots,  and  swarms  of  carrion  flics  buzzed  about  the  living  but 
putrid  carcases.  The  stench  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  huts  was  insupportable. 
Some  of  the  sick  were  raving  and  others,  emaciated,  with  sunken  eyes,  victims  of 
hunger  as  well  as  of  disease.  Many  wretched  creatures  from  other  villages  were 
abandoned  to  die  in  the  bush.' 

And  yet  the  poor  negroes  behaved  with  a  kindness  which 
might  have  been  looked  for  in  vain  amongst  a  more  civiHsed 
people. 

'And  no-\v,'  says  Mr.  Du  Chaillu,  '  I  was  indeed  alone,  with  no  one  to  help 
me.  I  had  to  fetch  water,  to  search  for  firewood,  and  to  cook  for  myself,  as  well 
as  for  all  my  poor  stricken  followers.  The  villagers  exerted  themselves  to  pro- 
cure food  for  me.  Those  who  were  now  well  enough  crept  towards  the  planta- 
tion to  get  plaintains  for  me ;  and  even  the  invalids,  men  and  women,  sent  me 
offerings  of  food,  saying  "  We  do  not  want  our  stranger  to  be  hungry."  ' 

At  last,  after  many  months  of  heart-sickening  delay,  he 
•was  able  to  leave  Ashira-land  and  march  forward  to  Otando. 
He  had  to  traverse  a  dense  primeval  forest,  which  bounds  the 
eastern  side  of  the  prairie,  and  clcthes  the  hills  and  valle}'s  of 
the  mountain-ridges,  which  extend  in  a  north  and  south  direc- 
tion between  the  Ashira  and  Otando  territories.  One  charac- 
teristic of  this  gloomy  region  is  the  great  scarcity  of  animal 
life.  '  Scarcely  once,'  he  says,  '  did  we  hear  the  voice  of  birds, 
and  at  night,  as  we  lay  round  the  fires  of  the  bivouac,  all  was 
still  as  death  in  the  black  shades  of  the  forest.'  He  was 
plundered  by  his  black  porters,  and  some  of  them  ran  away 
after  robbing  him  of  the  contents  of  the  boxes  they  carried. 
Amongst  the  missing  articles  was  his  photographic  apparatus, 
which  was  never  recovered.  At  times  the  party  was  reduced 
to  extremity  for  food,  and  this  gave  an  opportunity  for  the 
display  of  a  touching  trait  of  the  African  character.  Greedy 
and  rapacious  and  thieving  as  he  is,  the  negro  of  the  Equator 
seems  to  be  naturally  humane  and  kind.  On  one  occasion, 
when  they  were  starving,  his  porters  succeeded  in  killing  two 
monkeys.  Instead  of  devouring  the  food  themselves  they 
brought  it  to  Mr.  Du  Chaillu,  and  gave  up  the  whole  of  it  to 
him.     And  when  he  told  them  that  they  were  entitled  to  it, 

s 


258  £SSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

they  insisted  upon  giving  him  the  largest  share,  and  then 
divided  the  residue  amongst  themselves.  Here,  by  the  way, 
we  may  mention  that  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  speaks  in  raptures  of 
roast  monkey  as  an  article  of  food.  Of  course  it  would  be 
deemed  excellent  by  a  starving  man  ;  but  his  opinion  was 
formed  at  a  time  when  he  had  abundance  to  eat.  He  says 
that  in  the  month  of  March,  April,  and  May  the  flesh  of 
monkeys  is  exquisite.  '  I  know  of  no  game  better  or  more 
refreshing  ;  the  joints  must  be  either  roasted  or  grilled  to  bring 
out  the  flavour  of  the  meat  to  perfection.' 

The  principal  village  of  Otando  is  called  Mayolo,  situated 
in  an  open  tract  of  undulating  grass-land,  diversified  by 
groups  of  trees  and  patches  of  forest.  Here  is  a  description 
of  the  scene : — 

A  wide  stretch  of  undulating  country  lay  open  before  us,  the  foreground  of 
which  was  formed  by  prairie,  the  rest  appearing  as  a  continuous  expanse  of  forest, 
with  long  wooded  ridges  in  the  distance  one  behind  the  other,  the  last  and  highest 
fading  into  blue  mist  in  the  far  distance.  From  the  margins  of  the  forest  the  land 
gradually  sloped,  and  signs  of  population  were  apparent  in  sheds  and  patches  of 
plantation. 

Mr.  Du  Chaillu  stayed  about  two  months  at  Mayolo,  and 
his  arrival  was  followed  by  the  fatal  small-pox.  The  chiefs 
favourite  wife  and  one  of  his  nephews  was  taken  ill,  and,  as 
usual,  the  sickness  was  attributed  to  witchcraft.  Suspicion 
fell  upon  three  of  the  chief's  nephews,  and  they  were  com- 
pelled to  go  through  the  poison  ordeal,  which  is  an  exact 
counterpart  of  the  ordeal  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe.  A 
bowl  of  vegetable  poison  was  prepared,  out  of  which  each  of 
the  victims  had  to  drink  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
population,  who  were  armed  with  knives  and  axes  and  spears 
to  hack  to  pieces  the  bodies  of  any  of  the  three  who  should 
sink  under  the  ordeal.  But  they  all  escaped  with  their  lives. 
They  drank  the  poison,  and  yet  were  able  to  resist  its  effects 
*  The  struggle  was  a  severe  one  ;  the  eyes  of  the  young  men 
became  bloodshot,  their  limbs  trembled  convulsively,  and 
every  muscle  in  their  bodies  was  visibly  working  under  the 
potent  irritation.'  An  analysis  made  of  the  roots  of  the  plant 
shows,  according  to  Mr.  Du  Chaillu,  that  it  is  'a  most  violent 
poison.'  But  we  can  hardly  understand  how  it  so  often  fails, 
for  the  'doctor'  who  had  been  consulted  as  to  the  bewitch- 
ment of  the  village  afterwards  himself  drank  an  enormous 


A   JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO  LAND.  259 

quantity  of  the  poison,  which  passed  off  with  no  other  effect 
than  that  of  intoxicating  him.  Strychnine,  or  arsenic,  or 
prussic  acid,  would  have  been  a  very  different  affair.  Although 
Mr.  Du  Chaillu  does  not  seem  to  have  tasted  this  poison 
himself,  he  unconsciously  swallowed  homoeopathic  doses  of 
another  kind  ;  for,  as  the  time  approached  for  his  departure 
from  Mayolo,  he  each  day  received  delicate  attentions  from 
the  chief  in  the  shape  of  eatables  sent  from  his  hut ;  and  he 
then  found  out  that  it  was  an  African  custom  to  mix  in  dishes 
given  to  a  guest  powder  from  the  skull  of  a  deceased  ancestor, 
with  a  view  to  soften  his  heart  and  dispose  him  to  be  generous 
in  the  matter  of  parting  gifts. 

Little  or  nothing  of  interest  occurred  during  his  stay  in 
Otando  land.  He  amused  the  people  with  pictures  in  the 
'  Illustrated  London  News  '  and  '  Punch.'  '  "  Punch,"  the 
traveller's  friend,'  excited  their  wonder  greatly.  They  all 
exclaimed,  "  What  -a  fine  cap  he  wears  !  "  and  asked  me  if  I 
had  any  like  it.  They  were  quite  disappointed  when  I  told 
them  I  had  not.'  But  a  musical  box  set  down  on  a  stool  in 
the  village-street  and  playing  by  itself  fairly  frightened  them, 
as  they  thought  that  a  devil  was  inside  the  box;  and  they 
were  still  more  astonished  when  they  received  some  shocks 
from  a  galvanic  battery.  But  they  seemed  to  have  a  dim 
notion  of  the  cause,  for  they  cried  out  '  Eninda  ! '  which  is  the 
name  of  a  species  of  electric  fish  found  in  the  neighbouring 
streams.  Their  wonder,  however,  passed  all  bounds  when  a 
large  magnet  was  brought  out,  and  they  saw  knives  and 
swords  sticking  to  it.  The  idea  of  the  traveller's  wealth  over- 
powered themi,  and  the  chief  of  the  village  declared  that,  if  he 
was  not  a  king,  he  must  be  next  to  a  king  in  his  own 
country.  Some  of  the  greatest  pests  in  this  part  of  Africa 
are  the  ants.  There  are  ants  that  build  hives  or  houses  on 
the  ground  shaped  like  gigantic  mushrooms,  and  scattered  by 
tens  of  thousands  over  the  Otando  prairie.  There  are  tree- 
ants,  that  make  their  nests  between  the  ribs  of  the  trunks  of 
trees,  and  others  of  a  much  larger  size,  of  a  light  yellow 
colour,  which  rear  what  may  be  called  huts  in  the  forest, 
upwards  of  four  feet  high.  But  the  most  troublesome  seem 
to  be  the  Bashikouay  ants,  whose  bite,  although  not  venomous, 
is  extremely  painful,  and  they  travel  in  swarming  myriads 


26o         ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

along  the  ground.  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  says,  '  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  if  a  man  were  firmly  tied  to  a  bed  so  that  he  could 
not  escape,  he  would  be  entirely  eaten  up  by  these  ants  in  a 
short  space  of  time.'  Once  they  got  possession  of  his  room 
and  drove  him  out  of  it,  until  he  was  able  to  stop  the 
advance  of  the  invading  host  by  kindling  a  fire  outside  the 
house  on  their  line  of  march,  and  destroying  them  by  thou- 
sands.    He  says  : — 

The  armies  of  the  Bashikouays  seem  for  ever  on  the  march,  clearh:g  the  ground 
of  every  fragment  of  animal  substance,  dead  or  alive,  which  they  can  obtain  or 
overpower  ;  and  so  furious  are  their  onslaughts  on  the  person  of  any  one  who  steps 
near  their  armies  that  it  is  difficult  or  impossible  to  trace  the  columns  to  their 
nests,  if,  indeed,  they  have  any. 

Leaving  Mayolo  at  the  end  of  May  he  proceeded  east- 
ward towards  Apono  land.  He  had  to  cross  a  high  hill,  part 
of  an  elevated  ridge,  from  the  summit  of  which  were  seen  in 
the  distance  the  still  higher  ranges  of  mountains,  amongst 
which  dwell  the  Ishogo,  the  Ashango,  and  other  tribes,  and 
the  sides  were  covered  with  the  same  eternal  forest.  He  was 
now  on  wholly  new  ground,  and  was  the  first  white  man  who 
had  been  seen  in  that  part  of  Africa.  The  people  when  they 
caught  sight  of  him  and  his  paity  began  to  fly.  The  women 
snatched  up  their  infants  and  cried  out  as  they  ran  away, 
'  The  Oguizi !  (spirit)  the  Oguizi  !  He  has  come,  and  we 
shall  die.'  They  associated  his  arrival  with  the  scourge  of 
small-pox  which  had  already  swept  over  that  part  of  the 
country.  He  crossed  the  Upper  Ngouyai  river  on  a  large 
flat-bottomed  canoe  Avhich  carried  the  party  and  baggage 
over  in  seven  trips.  The  Ngouyai  here  is  a  fine  stream, 
nearly  as  wide  as  the  Thames  at  London  Bridge,  and  from 
ten  to  fifteen  feet  deep.  It  flows  from  the  SS.W.  He  was 
now  in  the  Apony  country,  part  of  which  is  occupied  by 
isolated  portions  of  the  Ishogo  tribe — and  he  found  the 
people  terrified  at  his  approach,  and  most  unwilling  to  allow 
him  to  proceed,  as  the  report  that  he  had  brought  the  eviva 
or  plague  along  with  him  had  been  spread  far  into  the 
interior.  He  reached,  however,  a  large  village  called  Mokaba, 
where  he  met  with  a  more  friendly  reception,  and  was 
only  annoyed  by  the  excessive  curiosity  of  the  inhabitants. 
He  says, 

The  place  swaims  with  people,  and  I  have  been  haunted  at  my  encampment 


A    JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO  LAND.  261 

by  numbers  of  sight-seers.  The  way  they  come  upon  me  is  sometimes  quite 
startHng  ;  they  sidle  up  behind  trees,  or  crawl  up  amongst  the  long  grass  until 
they  are  near  enough,  and  then,  from  behind  the  tree-trunks  or  above  the  herbage, 
a  number  of  soot-black  faces  suddenly  bob  out,  staring  at  me  with  eyes  and 
mouth  wide  open.  The  least  thing  I  do  eliciis  shouts  of  wonder  ;  but  if  I  look 
directly  at  them,  they  take  to  their  legs,  and  run  as  if  for  their  lives. 

The  Aponos  are  distinguished  by  their  sprightliness  of 
character,  and  are  clean  and  well-looking. 

Their  villages  are  larger,  better  arranged,  and  prettier  than  those  of  the  Otando 
and  Ashira  Ngozai.  Each  house  is  built  separate  from  its  neighbours,  and  they 
attend  to  cleanliness  in  their  domestic  arrangements.  Their  country  is  an  undu- 
lating plain,  varied  with  open  grassy  places,  covered  with  a  pebbly  soil  and  rich 
and  extensive  patches  of  woodland,  well  adapted  for  agriculture,  in  which  they 
make  their  plantations. 

Iron  ore  exists  in  considerable  quantity  in  their  prairies, 
and  they  melt  it  in  little  thick  earthenware  pots,  using 
charcoal  to  temper  the  metal.  But  the  tribes  situated  further 
to  the  east  are  the  most  expert  workers  in  iron,  and  all  the 
anvils  which  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  saw  in  Apono  land  came  from 
them.  Like  the  Ashiras  they  are  dexterous  weavers  of  grass 
cloth,  which  forms  their  clothing.  We  have  seen  some  of  the 
Ashira  mats,  and  in  neatness  of  pattern  and  finish  of  work- 
manship, they  are  equal  to  anything  of  the  kind  manufactured 
in  Europe.  ]\Ir.  Du  Chaillu  calls  them  a  *  merry  people,'  that 
is,  they  make  a  regular  practice  of  getting  drunk  every  day 
as  long  as  they  can  procure  palm  wine.  They  hang  cala- 
bashes to  the  trees,  and  climb  them  in  the  morning  to  drink 
deep  draughts  of  their  favourite  beverage.  It  was  the  height 
of  the  drunken  season  when  he  was  at  Mokaba,  and  dancing, 
tam-tamming,  and  wild  uproar,  with  as  much  quarrelling 
as  goes  on  at  an  Irish  fair,  were  kept  up  day  and  night. 

From  Mokaba  the  route  lay  a  little  to  the  north  of  east. 
The  ground  began  to  rise,  and  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  entered  on  a 
richly-wooded  hilly  country  in  which  were  numerous  planta- 
tions and  villages  of  slaves  belonging  to  the  head  men  of 
Mokaba.  He  was  now  amongst  the  Ishogos,  a  fine  tribe  of 
strong  well-made  negroes,  difTering  in  many  respects  from 
those  he  had  hitherto  met.  Both  sexes  ornament  themselves 
by  rubbing  their  bodies  with  red  powder,  but  the  most 
curious  part  of  a  woman's  toilette  is  her  chignon,  the  shapes 
and  sizes  of  which  might  excite  the  envy  of  an  European 
belle.     It  is   much   more  magnificent,  and  hardly  more  ugly 


262  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

than  the  bunches  with  which  English  ladies  at  the  present 
day  disfigure  their  heads.  There  are  three  pictures  in 
Mr.  Du  Chaillu's  book  of  the  Ishogo  fashions  in  this  respect, 
and  we  are  not  sure  that  they  may  not  be  adopted  before 
long  amongst  ourselves.  One  may  be  called  the  chignon 
horizontal,  the  other  the  chignon  oblique,  and  the  third  the 
chignon  vertical.  Chronologically,  it  would  appear  that  the 
African  had  the  start  of  the  Parisian  belle,  and  that  the  inven- 
tion is  due  to  our  black  sisters. 

We  are  so  apt  to  associate  with  the  idea  of  Africa  sand 
and  desert  and  jungle,  that  it  is  difiicult  to  realize  to  the 
mind's  eye  the  beauty  of  much  of  the  scenery,  and  we  are 
hardly  prepared  for  such  a  description  as  that  which  Mr.  Du 
Chaillu  gives  of  the  village  of  Mokenga,  where  he  stayed  for 
a  short  time  during  his  journey  through  the  country  of  the 
Ishogos  : — 

The  village  was  surrounded  by  a  dense  grove  of  plantain-trees,  many  of  which 
had  to  be  supported  by  poles,  on  account  of  the  weight  of  the  enormous  branches 
of  plantains  they  bore.  Little  groves  of  lime-trees  were  scattered  everywhere, 
and  the  limes,  like  so  much  golden  fruit,  looked  beautiful  amidst  the  dark  foliage 
that  surrounded  them.     Tall,  towering  palm-trees  were  scattered  here  and  there. 

Above  and  behind  this  village  was  the  dark  green  forest The  spring 

from  which  the  villagers  draw  their  water  is  situated  in  a  most  charming 
spot.  A  rill  of  water,  clear  and  cold,  leaps  from  the  lower  part  of  a  pre- 
cipitous hill;  with  a  fall  of  about  nine  feet  into  a  crystal  basin,  whence  a  rivulet 
brawls  down  towards  the  lower  land  through  luxuriant  woodlands.  The  hill 
itself  and  the  neighbourhood  of  the  spring  are  clothed  with  forest,  as,  in  fact,  is 
the  whole  country,  and  the  path  leads  under  shade  to  the  cool  fountain.  I  used 
to  go  there  in  the  morning  whilst  I  was  at  the  village,  to  take  a  douche  bath.  In 
such  places  the  vegetation  of  the  tropics  always  shows  itself  to  the  best  advantage  ; 
favoured  by  the  moisture,  the  glossy  and  elegant  foliage  of  many  strange  trees  and 
plants  assumes  its  full  development,  whilst  graceful  creepers  hang  from  the 
branches,  and  ferns  and  lilaceous  plants  grow  luxuriantly  about  the  moist  margins 
of  the  spring. 

A  stream  called  the  Odiganga,  one  of  tributaries  of  the 
Ngouyai  river,  divides  the  Ishogo  from  the  Ashango  terri- 
tory. When  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  crossed  it,  his  Ishogo  porters 
mutinied  and  laid  down  their  loads,  declaring  that  if  he  did 
not  give  them  more  beads  they  would  return  to  their  homes. 
He,  however,  told  his  Commi  men  to  arm,  and  they  stepped 
forward  and  levelled  their  guns  at  the  heads  of  the  Ishogos, 
who  immediately  gave  in,  holding  out  their  hands  and 
begging  to  be  forgiven.  It  was  a  little  attempt  at  extortion, 
the  failure  of  which  did  not  in  the  least  disconcert  them,  for 


A    JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO  LAND.  263 

'  in  a  short  time  they  had  again  taken  up  their  loads,  and  we 
marched  off  at  a  quick  pace;  the  porters  becoming  quite 
cheerful,  laughing  and  chattering  as  they  trudged  along.'  It 
is  curious  to  notice  the  contempt  which  the  negroes  of  the 
coast  feel  for  the  negroes  of  the  interior.  They  were  con- 
stantly tempted  to  insult  them,  and  no  arguments  could 
induce  them  to  believe  that  the  Commi  tribe  were  the  same 
race  as  the  Ashangos.  '  How  is  it  possible,'  they  said, 
'  that  Chaillie  can  think  us  to  be  of  the  same  blood  as  these 
slaves  .-* ' 

In  most  of  the  Ashango  villages  the  people  were  very 
anxious  to  get  gunpowder,  and  the  porters  wished  to  be  paid 
partly  in  that  article.  They  were  asked  why  they  wanted 
powder,  as  they  had  no  guns,  and  were  even  afraid  of  hand- 
ling one.  They  replied  that  a  tribe  called  Ashangui,  to  the 
east,  bought  gunpowder  and  gave  them  iron  for  it,  that  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  iron  there,  and  that  all  their  swords, 
spears,  and  arrow-heads  were  made  of  iron  bought  from  that 
country.  The  iron  sold  by  the  traders  on  the  West  Coast 
does  not  reach  so  far  inland  as  Ashango. 

At  Niembouai,  one   of  the  principal  Ashango   villages, 
there  was  a  grand  palaver  whether  the  white  man  should  be 
allowed  to  proceed,  but  the  question  was  carried  unanimously 
in  the  affirmative.     While  waiting  there  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  took 
the  opportunity  of  visiting  the  settlement  of  the   Obongos, 
one  of  whose  villages  was  in  the  neighbourhood.     These  are 
a  curious  race  of  dwarf  negroes  covered  with  tufts  of  hair  on 
their  bodies.     They  seem  to  be  as  distinct  from  the  surround- 
ing population  as  gipsies  are  amongst  ourselves,  and  to  be 
almost  as  low  in  the  scale  of  humanity  as  the  tree  Dyaks  of 
Borneo.     They  neither  plant  nor  sow,  but  are  expert  trappers 
and   fishermen,  and   feed  on  roots,  berries,  and  nuts  which 
they  find  in  the  forest,  while  they  sell  the  game  they  catch  to 
the  settled   inhabitants.     The   Ashangos    despise   them,  but 
treat  them  with  kindness,  and  often  give  their  old  worn  grass- 
cloths  to  the  Obongos.     Their  huts  are  filthily  dirty,  swarm- 
ing with  fleas,   so  that  it  was  impossible   to    stay  in  them. 
They  fled  at  the  approach  of  the  strangers,  and  in  the  course 
of  several  visits  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  could  only  succeed  in  finding 
'  at  home '  five  or  six  women  and  a  youth,  whom  he  took  the 


264  jESSAVS   critical   AND  NARRATIVE. 

trouble  to  measure,  and   found  their  average  height   to    be 
about  four  feet  eight  inches  : — 

'  One  of  the  women,'  he  says,  '  in  the  course  of  a  short  tune,  lost  all  her  shy- 
ness, and  began  to  ridicule  the  men  for  having  run  from  us.  She  said  they  were 
as  timid  as  the  nchende  (squirrel),  who  cried  "que  que,"  and  in  speaking  she 
twisted  her  little  body  into  odd  contortions,  with  such  droll  effect  that  we  all 
laughed.  When  I  brought  out  my  tape  to  measure  her,  her  fears  returned  ; 
thinking  perhaps  that  it  was  a  kind  of  snake  I  was  uncoiling  out  of  its  case,  she 
trembled  all  over.  I  told  her  I  was  not  going  to  kill  her,  but  it  required  another 
present  to  quiet  her  again.     I  accomplished  my  task  at  last.' 

After  leaving  Niembouai,  the  Ashango  porters  repeated 
the  experiment  Vv^hich  had  been  formerly  tried  by  the  Ishogos. 
They  laid  down  their  loads  and  demanded  more  pay.  Again 
the  Commi  negroes  took  up  their  guns  and  pointed  them  at 
the  heads  of  the  offenders,  who  instantly  yielded,  and  said 
laughing,  '  Let  us  stop  awhile  and  have  a  smoke.  Do  you 
think  we  would  leave  you  in  the  woods  }  People  may  be  left 
in  a  village,  but  not  in  the  forest.'  The  Ashangos  seem  to 
be  more  civilised  than  the  other  tribes  nearer  the  coast.  One 
proof  of  this  is  the  extent  of  their  dress,  which  is  made  of  the 
palm-leaves  of  the  country.  Even  the  children  do  not  go 
naked,  and  the  robes  of  the  chiefs  are  of  unusually  large  size, 
worn  gracefully  on  their  bodies.  All  of  the  inhabitants,  both 
male  and  female,  shave  off  their  eyebrows  ajid  pluck  out  their 
eyelashes,  and,  like  the  Ishogos,  smear  themselves  with  a  red 
powder.  They  are  not  drunkards  like  the  Aponos,  though 
palm-trees  are  abundant  in  the  country,  and  they  drink  the 
palm  wine,  but  in  moderation.  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  now  on 
his  way  to  the  territory  of  the  Njavi  tribe,  who  live  to  the 
east  of  Ashango  land,  and  as  he  approached  the  village  of 
Mobana  through  the  forest  he  was  again  robbed  by  his 
porters,  three  of  whom  ran  away  with  their  loads.  The  boxes, 
however,  were  recovered,  with  the  articles  they  contained, 
inimis  the  contents  of  some  medicine  bottles,  which,  amongst 
other  things,  held  arsenic  ;  and  there  was  afterwards  a  report 
that  some  of  the  natives  had  died  mysteriously  after  touching 
the  white  man's  goods.  Next  day  two  more  boxes  were 
stolen  in  Mobana,  and  the  chief  was  summoned,  and  he  and 
his  people  were  accused  of  the  theft.  Many  were  the  palavers, 
and  in  vain  were  the  detectives  set  to  work.  A  novel  kind 
of  '  distress  '  was  proposed  by  the  natives  to  recover  the  goods, 


A    JOURNEY  TO  ASIIANGO  LAND.  265 

for  they  said  that  if  they  only  knew  the  village  to  which  the 
things  had  been  taken,  they  would  go  and  seize  some  of  their 
women  ! 

Mobana  is  situated  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  and  the  land 
slopes  down  gradually  towards  the  east.  Here  Mr.  Du 
Chaillu  heard  again  of  a  large  river  flowing  further  to  the 
eastward,  which  he  supposes  to  be  the  Congo  ;  but,  as  we  shall 
see,  he  was  unable  to  reach  it,  for  an  unexpected  disaster 
awaited  him,  which  brought  his  expedition  to  an  untimely 
end.  The  same  kind  of  country  through  which  he  had  already 
travelled  seemed  to  extend  onwards  to  the  east  :  hilly  ranges 
clothed  with  forest  and  interspersed  with  open  prairies,  in 
which  lie  the  villages  of  the  negroes.  At  last,  on  July  21,  he 
reached  the  village  of  Mouaou  Kombo,  which  was  fated  to  be 
the  limit  of  his  journey.  The  natives  became  more  and  more 
unwilling  to  allow  him  to  proceed,  and  a  deputation  from  some 
villages  further  ahead  arrived  at  Mouaou  to  threaten  the  in- 
habitants with  war  if  they  came  with  him  through  their  coun- 
try. Of  course  there  was  a  palaver,  and  in  the  meantime  Mr. 
Du  Chaillu  was  obliged  to  stay  at  Mouaou.  But  he  did  not 
like  to  remain  in  the  village,  and  formed  an  encampment  at 
some  little  distance  in  the  woods  on  the  borders  of  one  of  the 
beautiful  clear  streams  which  he  says  are  so  frequent  in  this 
mountainous  region. 

The  place  was  a  very  pleasant  one,  under  the  shade  of  magnificent  trees, 
whose  closely-interwoven  arms  would  protect  us  from  the  night  mist  which  dis- 
solves in  a  soaking  drizzle  almost  every  night  in  this  humid  country. 

But  this  distrust  of  the  hospitality  of  the  villagers  dis- 
pleased them,  and  they  came  and  entreated  him  to  come  back. 
He  at  last  complied  with  the  request,  and  entered  Mouaou 
with  all  his  baggage  in  a  sort  of  triumphal  procession.  The 
chief  came  out  in  state  with  his  countenance  painted  and  his 
royal  bell  ringing :  and  his  head-wife  told  them  that  she  was 
cooking  a  large  pot  of  vegetables  to  refresh  the  travellers. 

'  Alas  ! '  says  Mr.  Du  Chaillu,  '  the  joy  was  soon  turned  into  terror  !  Four 
men  from  the  hostile  village,  arrayed  in  warrior's  attire,  and  brandishing  plaintain 
leaves  over  their  heads,  came  in.  They  said  they  had  held  their  palaver  this 
morning,  and  had  decided  not  to  let  the  Oguizi  pass  ;  there  would  be  war  if  the 
Mouaou  people  attempted  to  bring  me. 

'  Kombo,  who  was  seated  by  my  side,  told  me  to  hide  myself  in  my  hut,  so 
as  not  to  give  the  strangers  the  pleasure  of  seeing  me  ;  he  then  ordered  my  men 


266         £SSAVS  CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  make  a  demonstration  with  their  guns  to  intimidate  these  vapouring  warriors. 
I  laughed  as  I  saw  the  men  taking  to  their  heels  as  soon  as  Igala  advanced  to- 
words  them,  firing  his  gun  in  the  air.  But  my  men  got  excited,  and  hurrying 
forward  into  the  open  space  to  fire  their  gims  in  the  air,  one  of  the  weapons  loaded 
with  ball  went  off  before  the  muzzle  was  elevated.  I  did  not  see  the  act,  but 
immediately  after  the  report  of  the  gims,  I  was  startled  to  see  the  Mouaou  vil- 
lagers, with  affrighted  looks  and  shouts  of  alarm,  running  in  all  directions.  The 
king  and  his  konde,  who  were  both  near  me,  fled  along  with  the  rest.' 

A  negro  had  been  killed  not  far  from  the  hut,  and  at  first 
it  was  thought  that  he  was  the  only  victim.  This  accident 
might  have  been  got  over,  for  the  natives  seemed  willing  to 
take  payment  in  beads  and  cloth  as  the  price  of  the  life  that 
had  been  lost.  The  war  drums  had  ceased  beating,  and  they 
were  going  to  hold  a  palaver,  when  suddenly  a  woman  came 
rushing  out  of  a  hut,  wailing  and  tearing  her  hair,  to  announce 
that  the  head-wife  of  the  chief  had  been  killed  by  the  bullet, 
which,  after  passing  through  the  body  of  the  negro,  had 
pierced  the  thin  wall  of  her  hut.  There  was  now  a  general 
shout  of  '  War  ! '  and  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  and  his  little  party  were 
compelled  to  retreat. 

Away  we  went  ;  Igala  took  the  best  of  our  remaining  dogs,  and  led  the  van,  I 
bringing  up  the  rear.  It  was  not  an  instant  too  soon.  Before  we  were  well  on  the 
forest-path  leading  from  the  village,  a  number  of  ai-rows  were  discharged  at  us  ; 
Igala  was  hit  in  the  leg,  and  one  of  the  missiles  struck  me  on  the  hand,  cutting 
through  one  of  my  fingers  to  the  bone.  Macondi  and  Rebouka,  in  leaving  the 
village,  narrowly  escaped  being  transfixed  with  spears,  and  only  succeeded  in  re- 
pelling their  assailants  by  pointing  their  guns  at  them.  If  I  had  not  stopped  them 
from  firing  they  would  have  shot  a  number  of  them.  Wild  shouts  and  the  tramp 
of  scores  of  infuriated  savages  close  behind  us  put  us  on  our  mettle.  I  shouted 
to  my  men  not  to  fire  for  we  were  in  the  wrong,  and  I  told  the  villagers  we 
should  not  shoot  them  if  they  did  not  pursue  us  to  the  forest,  but  that  if  they 
followed  us  we  should  certainly  kill  them.  My  Commi  boys  behaved  exceedingly 
well  ;  they  were  cool  and  steady,  and  keeping  a  firm  line,  we  marched  away 
through  the  street  of  the  village. 

After  running  four  or  five  miles  pursued  by  the  infuriated 
blacks,  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  ordered  his  men  to  make  a  stand, 
and,  firing  his  rifle,  shot  two  of  the  leading  negroes.  This 
made  them  keep  at  a  more  respectful  distance,  but  they  still 
followed  the  retreating  party,  and  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  was  again 
struck  by  a  barbed  arrow  in  his  side.     He  says  : — 

The  unfeigned  sorrow  and  devotion  of  my  men  at  this  juncture  were  most 
gratifying  to  me.  I  was  getting  weak  from  loss  of  blood,  and  a  burning  thirst 
was  tonnenting  me.  They  asked  what  was  to  become  of  them  if  I  should  die  ? 
I  told  them  to  keep  together,  come  what  might  ;  and  if  they  escaped,  to  deliver 
all  my  journals  and  papers  to  the  white  men. 


A    JOURNEY  TO  ASH  AN  GO  LAND.  267 

Twice  again  the  Commi  negroes  fired  upon  their  pursuers, 
and  each  time  with  effect.  This  effectually  frightened  them, 
and  although  they  followed  at  a  distance  for  some  time  through 
the  forest,  they  did  not  venture  to  show  themselves,  and  at 
last  were  heard  no  longer.  '  One  of  Mr.  Du  Chaillu's  men  was 
badly  wounded,  and  he  himself  suffered  acute  pain  from  the 
poisoned  arrows  which  had  struck  him.  But  the  poison  is  not 
very  virulent,  and  if  the  wound  is  an  external  one,  it  is  seldom 
fatal. 

We  need  not  give  details  of  the  rest  of  Mr.  Du  Chaillu's 
retreat.     It  was  over  the  same  ground  which  he  had  formerly 
traversed,  and  he  met  with  no  opposition  from  the  natives. 
On  the  contrary,  they  welcomed  him  in  the  most  friendly 
manner,  and  often  pressed  him  to  stay  with  them.    The  Isho- 
gos  especially,  whom  he  calls  the  kindest-hearted  and  gentlest 
negroes  he  ever  met  with,  received  the  fugitives  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  as  he  passed  through  their  villages  followed  him 
with  shouts,  '  Go  on  well,  go  on  well  ;  nothing  bad  shall  hap- 
pen to  you.'     Perhaps  the  boasting  of  his  Commi  body-guard 
had  something  to  do  with  this,  by  inspiring  admiration  of 
their  valour;    for   as  they  increased    the   distance   between 
themselves    and    the    Ashangos,    they   magnified    their   own 
prowess,  and  told  wonderful  stories  of  the  numbers  of  the 
enemy  they  had  slain.     In  a  short  time  the  three  or  four  who 
had  fallen  by  their  guns  were  multiplied  to  a  hundred  and 
fifty,  and,  like  Falstaff  about  his  men  in  buckram,  each  told  a 
tale  of  the  numbers  he  had  killed  with  his  own  hand.     We 
need  not  wonder  at  the  awe  which  such  deeds  of  prowess  in- 
spired, nor  that  the  audience  clapped  their  hands,  and  cried 
out,  '  You  are  men  !  You  are  men  ! '     As  he  passed  along  he 
saw  fearful  evidences  of  the  violence  of  the  small-pox  which 
had  raged  in  the  district.     In  many  places  the  ground  was 
strewed  with  human  skulls  and  bones,  and  some  villages  had 
been  entirely  deserted.     Goumbi,  on  the  Rembo,  one  of  the 
chief  towns  of  king  Ouengueza,  had  become  a  ruin,  and  one 
clan  of  the  Commi  tribe  was  almost  wholly  destroyed.     The 
old  man  himself  was  broken-hearted,  but  he  refused  to  listen 
to  his   people,  who  wished  human  victims  to  be  sacrificed  as 
the  authors  of  the  witchcraft  which  had  caused  the  plague. 
'  No,'  he  said,  '  it  is  no  witchcraft,  but  a  wind  sent  by  God. 


2  68  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Enough  people  have  died,  and  we  must  kill  no  more.'  He  en- 
treated Mr.  Du  Chaillu  to  return  again  to  Africa.  '  Come  again,' 
he  exclaimed,  '  and  go  no  more  into  the  bush  ;  and  when  you 
come  bring  me  a  big  bell,  a  sword  with  a  silver  handle  that  will 
not  rust,  and  two  chests,  one  of  brass,  and  another  of  ebony, 
for  I  want  to  see  how  you  work  the  wood  that  we  send  to  you.' 

At  last,  on  September  21,  1865,  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Fernand  Vaz  river,  and  found  a  vessel  there 
loading  for  London.  He  had  lost  everything  but  his  journals, 
and  had  neither  money  nor  property  with  him,  but  he  was 
taken  on  board  as  a  passenger,  and  soon  after  arrived  safely 
in  England.  Thus  ended  this  second  most  adventurous 
journey,  of  which  some  may  think  that  the  results  have  been 
meagre,  if  we  compare  them  with  the  danger  and  the  cost. 
It  is  the  narrative  of  brave  adventure,  dogged  by  misfortune, 
and  ending  in  disappointment.  But  this  was  not  Mr.  Du 
Chaillu's  fault. 

Though  his  advance  from  the  coast  has  not  exceeded  240 
miles  in  a  direct  line,  he  has  made  many  important  additions 
to  natural  history,  and  thrown  a  new  and  interesting  light  on 
the  nature  of  the  country,  and  the  manners  and  conditions  of 
its  inhabitants.  The  region  is  almost  impenetrable  from  the 
want  of  harbours  on  the  surf-beaten  coast,  the  deadliness  of 
the  climate,  the  rains  which  last  for  ten  months  of  the  year, 
the  intricacy  of  the  jungle  which  covers  nearly  the  entire  surface, 
and  the  jealous  suspicions  of  the  natives.  The  narrative  affords 
abundant  proof  that,  if  any  one  could  overcome  these  obstacles 
it  was  Mr.  Du  Chaillu — the  man  who,  in  the  first  instance, 
had  been  the  victim  of  a  calumny  to  make  him  out  an  im- 
postor, to  deny  him  all  merit  as  a  discoverer,  and  to  suppress 
his  name  from  the  very  specimens  he  had  sent  home.  This 
second  journey  places  him  above  the  reach  of  cavil  ;  and  if  he 
has  failed,  he  has  shown  all  future  travellers  the  qualities 
needed  for  success. 

yVlmost  acclimatised  by  residence  on  the  coast  ;  endued 
Avith  rare  energy,  courage,  and  perseverance  ;  personally  popu- 
lar with  the  natives  for  that  kindly  disposition  which  we  see 
in  the  management  of  his  guides,  speaking  their  dialects  with 
flucnc}-,   and   showing    masterly   tact    in  his  '  palavers'   with 


A    JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO    LAND.  269 

them,  thoroughly  acquainted  with  their  habits,  he  seems  to 
possess  all  the  qualincations  of  an  African  traveller.     But  he 
was  able  to  advance  only  a  few  hundred  miles  inland,  and 
then  barely  escaped  the  fate  which  has  befallen  so  many  brave 
and  distinguished  men,  from  Mungo  Park  down  to — we  can 
scarcely  bring  ourselves  to  abandon  hope,  as,  with  deepest 
sorrow,  we  add  the  last  most  honoured  name — Livingstone. 
It  may  be  well  worth  while  seriously  to  consider  whether  it  is 
wise  or  right  to  expose  valuable  lives  to  such  risks  in  such 
expeditions.     To  solve  the  great  problem  of  the  sources  of 
the  Nile,  to  dispel  the  darkness  which  has  shrouded  the  cradle 
of  the  mysterious  river  for  so  many  ages,  and  to  set  at  rest  a 
question  which  from  the  time  of  Herodotus  had  vexed  geogra- 
phers, historians,  and  philosophers,  is  a  feat  to  immortalise  the 
name  of  the  discoverer.     We  can  quite  understand,  therefore, 
why  travellers  persevered  in  the  attempt,  and  will  persevere 
all  the  more  for  the  success  which  crowned  the  enterprise  of 
Speke,  and  Grant,  and  Baker,  when   they  gazed  upon   the 
waters  of  the  great  African  lakes  which  form  the  head  reser- 
voirs, if  we  may  not  strictly  call  them   the  sources,  of  the 
Nile.     But  we  more  than  doubt  whether  anything  is  to  be 
gained  by  an  attempt  to  cross  the  continent  of  Africa  in  the 
region  of  the  equator.     Indignantly  protesting  at  that  want 
of  sympathy  with  the   worth   of  science  and  the  dignity  of 
manly  adventure,  which  sneers   at   the  desire  to  enlarge  the 
bounds  of  geographical  knowledge  as  mere  curiosity,  we  must 
still  recognise   that    the   chief  objects   of  such  an  enterprise 
should  be  trade  and  civilisation.     But  the  isolated  journeys  of 
a  few  travellers  carrying   their  lives  in  their  hands — after  the 
first  indispensable  work  of  laying  open  the  regions  which  it 
requires  unselfish  devotion  such  as  theirs  to  think  of  pene- 
trating— can  do  little  or  nothing  to  efiect  these  objects.     They 
mio"ht  be  better  advanced,  in  the  second  stage,  by  settlements 
and  factories  on  the  coast,  or  on  the  banks  of  navigable  rivers 
as  far  inland  as  the  climate  or  other  natural  obstacles  will 
allow.     The  path  of  the  white  man  through  the  tribes  of  the 
interior  is  like  the  path  of  .a  ship  through  the  waters.      The 
waves  close  on  the  track,  and  all  trace  of  it  is  lost,  till  the  march 
of  civilisation,  directed  in  the  same  track  by  more  effective  if 


270  ESSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

less  unselfish  motives,  takes  the  chart  of  the  almost  forgotten 
traveller  for  its  guide. 

If  we  do  not  actually  know,  we  can  tolerably  well  guess, 
thanks  to  Mr.  Du  Chaillu,  what  is  the  nature  of  the  country, 
and  what  is  the  character  of  its  inhabitants.  Forest  and 
prairie  alternate  ;  and  elevated  ridges,  which  sometimes  rise 
to  the  dignity  of  mountains,  with  jungle  covering  their  sides, 
run  in  parallel  lines  from  north  to  south.  The  kings  of  the 
forest  seem  to  be  the  gorilla  and  the  chimpanzee,  for  there 
are  only  a  few  carnivorous  animals  found  there,  and  the 
elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  and  the  lion  are  unknown.  Mr.  Du 
Chaillu  saw  no  zebras,  giraffes,  elands,  or  antelopes,  and 
indeed,  the  absence  of  animal  life  of  any  kind  was  remarkable. 
He  says  that  miles  after  miles  were  travelled  over  without 
hearing  the  sound  of  a  bird,  the  chatter  of  a  monkey,  or 
the  footstep  of  a  gazelle.  Reptiles,  of  course,  abound,  and 
most  of  the  snakes  are  poisonous.  As  to  the  people,  he  was 
struck  with  the  scantiness  of  their  numbers,  and  the  varieties  of 
languages  and  dialects  spoken  by  the  different  tribes.  The 
patriarchal  form  of  government  everywhere  prevails,  each 
village  being  ruled  by  a  chief  or  by  elders.  The  power  of 
a  chief  is  not  despotic,  but  subject,  in  cases  of  life  and 
death  at  all  events,  to  a  council  of  elders.  Polygamy  and 
slavery  exist,  but  the  slaves  always  belong  to  a  different 
tribe  from  that  of  their  owner. 

It  is,  however,  of  little  interest  to  know  what  are  the  laws 
and  customs  of  half-naked  savages,  who  since  the  first  peopling 
of  the  wastes  of  Africa,  have  been  unable  to  raise  themselves 
hiG"her  in  the  scale  of  intelHgence  than  we  now  find  them. 
Indeed,  it  is  most  probable  that  they  have  degraded  from  the 
old  stock,  whatever  that  stock  may  originally  have  been. 
It  is  sad  to  think  of  generations  that  have  passed,  and  of  those 
that  will  pass  away,  of  men  '  born  for  immortality,'  whose 
religion  is  the  lowest  form  of  superstition,  and  who  seem  des- 
tined to  continue  as  long  as  they  exist  in  a  state  of  primaeval 
barbarism.  We  confess  that  we  have  no  faith  in  the  opinion 
that  they  can  civilise  themselves  or  that  civilisation  can  be 
imported  amongst  them.  The  individual  negro  may  now  and 
then  show  a  remarkable  aptitude  for  this,  and  hereby  he 
proves  the  folly  of  the  theory  which  would   make  him  the 


A   JOURNEY  TO  ASHANGO  LAND.  271 

congener  of  the  ape  ;  and  negroes  who  dwell  amidst  a  supe- 
rior race,  like  those  in  the  United  States  and  in  the  West 
Indies,  may  be  capable  of  improvement ;  but  so  long  as  they 
inhabit  Africa,  with  its  climate,  their  habits,  and  their  tradi- 
tions, wc  believe  that  neither  the  efforts  of  missionaries  nor 
the  enterprise  of  travellers,  nor  the  energy  of  traders,  will  be 
able  to  raise  them  materially  in  the  scale  of  humanity.  Wc 
agree  with  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  that  '  though  a  people  may  be 
taught  the  arts  and  sciences  known  by  more  gifted  nations, 
unless  they  have  the  power  of  progression  in  themselves, 
they  must  inevitably  relapse  in  the  course  of  time  into  their 
former  state.' 

He  says  that  the  population  in  the  region  of  the  equator 
is  steadily  decreasing.  The  negroes  themselves  acknowledge 
it,  and  he  attributes  it  to  the  slave  trade,  polygamy,  barren- 
ness of  women,  death  among  children,  plagues,  and  witchcraft, 
'  the  latter  taking  away  more  lives  than  any  slave  trade  ever  did.' 
But  all  these  causes  have  been  in  operation  for  ages.  The 
slave  trade,  indeed,  was  infinitely  more  active  formerly  than 
now,  and  yet  it  is  only  lately  that  the  diminution  has  become 
so  apparent.  In  the  lifetime  of  old  men  clans  have  entirely 
disappeared,  and  of  others  only  a  few  individuals  remain. 
Nor  is  it  only  in  Central  Africa  that  this  occurs.  We  are  told 
that  in  every  other  part  of  the  continent  travellers  who,  after 
the  lapse  of  a  few  years,  have  returned  a  second  time  to  the 
same  country,  have  noticed  a  decrease  of  population. 

We  arc  unable  to  account  for  this  ;  but,  whatever  be  the 
cause,  we  cannot  affect  to  be  sorry  for  the  result.  We  feel  too 
profoundly  for  the  degradation  of  the  negro,  and  the  miseries 
he  endures,  and  wc  have  too  little  faith  in  the  probability  of 
his  amelioration,  to  desire  the  continuance  of  his  race.  It 
may  be  that,  like  that  of  the  Red  Indian  in  America,  or  the 
Maori  in  New  Zealand,  or  the  Black  Man  in  Australia,  it  is 
destined  to  disappear  ;  but  in  those  cases  it  dies  away  before 
the  march  of  advancing  civilisation.  The  hunting-grounds  of 
the  wilderness  are  covered  with  cattle  and  with  corn,  and  the 
wigwam  of  the  savage  gives  place  to  opulent  towns.  But 
the  climate  of  Africa  seems  to  forbid  the  possibility  of  this, 
and  if  the  negro  were  to  vanish  from  the  earth,  we  know  not 
who  from  amongst  the  family  of  man  would  be  likely  or  able 


272  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  occupy  his  seat.  Nor  need  we  now  speculate  on  the  future, 
for  that  day  is  far  distant.  In  the  meantime  our  duty  is 
clear ;  we  must  treat  him  with  kindness,  but  also  with  firm- 
ness, when  we  come  in  contact  with  him  ;  we  must  deal  with 
him  fairly,  and  do  our  best  to  educate  and  elevate  him  as  far 
as  his  nature  will  permit  him  to  rise,  leaving  the  issue  of  the 
question  of  his  destiny  in  the  hands  of  Providence. 


273 


EUGENIE  DE  GUERIN} 

'  Edinburgh  Review,'  1864. 

It  is  a  remarkable  proof  of  the  impression  made  in  France  by 
this  book  that  the  prize  given  by  the  French  Academy  was 
awarded  to  it,  and  that  it  has  gone  througli  ten  editions  in 
less  than  two  years.  Perhaps  it  owes  these  distinctions,  in 
part,  to  the  contrast  it  affords  to  the  prevailing  spirit  of  the 
French  nation  and  the  present  age  ;  but  its  own  merits  are 
undeniable,  and  we  have  never  read  a  more  touching  record 
of  devoted  piety,  sisterly  aftection,  and  love  '  strong  as  death.' 
Eugenie  de  Guerin  is  an  Antigone  of  France  sublimed  and 
ennobled  by  the  Christian  faith.  Her  Journal  is  the  out- 
pouring of  one  of  the  purest  and  most  saintly  minds  that 
ever  existed  upon  earth.  The  style  is  exquisitely  beautiful, 
and  it  lingers  in  the  memory  like  the  dying  tones  of  an  yEolian 
harp,  full  of  ineffable  sweetness.  Amidst  the  impurity  which 
has  so  long  flooded  French  literature,  it  is  delightful  to  come 
upon  the  streams  of  thought  that  flowed  in  limpid  clearness 
from  the  fountain  of  her  mind,  and  to  And  in  a  young  French 
girl  a  combination  of  piety  and  genius  with  so  much  felicity 
and  force  of  expression,  that  her  countrjanen  have  not  scrupled 
to  compare  her  style  to  that  of  Pascal  himself 

Religion  was  with  her  not  a  thing  to  be  resorted  to  at 
certain  times  and  on  particular  occasions,  but  it  was  part  and 
parcel  of  her  existence.  She  breathed  its  atmosphere,  and  it 
was  the  essential  element  of  her  life.  She  was  one  of  those 
rare  beings  who  seem  to  belong  less  to  earth  than  to  heaven, 
whose  temperament,  so  to  speak,  is  theopatJdc,  and  whose  faith 
enables  them  to  regard  this  world  as  a  world  of  shadows  and 

^Eugenie    de    Guerin :   yournal    el     Ouvrage     couronne      par     rAcademic 
Lettres publies  avec  Vasseiitiment  de  sa      Fran9aisc.      Paris:   1863. 
Faimlle.      Par     G.     S.    Trkbutien. 

T 


274  J^SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  unseen  life  as  the  only  reality.  To  many  even  of  those 
who  think  deeply  on  religious  subjects  this  is  a  state  of  mind 
which  is  unattainable,  perhaps  hardly  intelligible.  The  piety 
seems  too  seraphic  for  the  wants  of  daily  life  ;  the  armour  too 
ethereal  for  the  combat  and  struggle  which  are  the  ordinary 
lot  of  man  ;  and  they  look  upon  it  as  a  beautiful  flower  which 
may  flourish  in  a  cloistered  solitude,  but  which  would  droop 
and  wither  in  the  wilderness  of  the  world.  This  temperament, 
however,  beyond  all  doubt,  does  exist,  and  such  a  journal  as 
that  of  Eugenie  de  Guerin  will  find  a  responsive  echo  in  many 
hearts,  both  Protestant  and  Catholic  ;  for  there  is  in  it  a  depth 
of  piety  which  transcends  mere  difference  of  creed,  and  swal- 
lows up,  as  it  were,  that  difference  in  the  intensity  of  Christian 
faith  and  a  large-hearted  love  of  God. 

No  doubt  there  are  also  many  to  whom  this  ecstatic  view 
of  religion  is  sickly  and  sentimental,  and  who  are  disposed  to 
attribute  the  highly-wrought  expressions  of  pious  enthusiasm 
to  weak  health,  habitual  solitude,  and  an  excitable  imagination. 
The  character  of  Eugenie  de  Guerin  belonged  rather  to  the 
cloister  than  the  world :  and  it  is  remarkable  that,  in  an  age 
like  the  present  these  journals  and  letters  of  a  recluse,  breathing 
no  passion  but  that  of  the  tenderest  affection  to  God  and  to 
her  brother,  should  have  been  read  with  extreme  avidity. 
They  owe  their  success  to  their  entire  moral  sincerity  and  their 
great  intellectual  refinement.  There  is  not  a  trace  of  cant  or 
affectation  in  these  pages,  which,  indeed,  were  never  intended 
to  be  seen  by  any  human  eye  but  that  of  her  brother  Maurice  ; 
and  their  purity  of  intention  is  equalled  by  a  purity  of  style 
and  felicity  of  diction  so  remarkable,  that  this  unknown  pro- 
vincial maiden  is  raised  by  'the  French  Academy  itself  to  the 
rank  of  one  of  the  best  writers  of  the  language. 

Before  we  notice  the  work  in  detail,  we  will  say  a  few 
words  of  the  De  Guerin  family,  and  of  the  brother  who  may, 
without  exaggeration,  be  said  to  have  absorbed  the  whole  of 
Eugenie's  existence.  This  is  necessary  to  justify,  and  even 
render  intelligible,  the  devotion  with  which  she  clung  to  him 
while  living,  and  cherished  his  memory  when  dead.  Maurice 
and  Eugenie  de  Guerin  were  born  at  the  old  family  chateau 
of  Lc  Cayla,  in  Languedoc,  near  the  town  or  village  of  Ar- 
dillac,  and  not  very  far  from  Toulouse.    They  were  of  ancient 


EUGENIE  DE   GUERIN. 


275 


and,  indeed,  noble  lineage,  and  their  ancestors  had  fought  in 
the  Crusades.  A  Gu6rin,  or  Guarini,  was,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  ninth  century,  Count  of  Auvergne,  and  members  of  the 
family  became  lords  of  the  domains  of  OIs  in  Ouercy,  Rhin- 
hodes  in  Rouerguc,  Apchier  in  Gevaudan,  and  Laval,  Saigne, 
and  Cayla  in  Langucdoc.  It  could  boast  of  a  cardinal,  who 
was  also  a  troubadour  at  the  court  of  Adelaide  of  Toulouse  ; 
and  of  a  chancellor  of  France,  the  Bishop  of  Senlis,  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Blanche,  who  animated  by  his  example  the 
courage  of  the  troops  at  the  battle  of  Bovines.  By  various  in- 
termarriages, also,  it  mingled  its  blood  with  some  of  the 
noblest  families  in  France — the  Seguiers,  the  Dulacs,  the 
Bernis,  and  the  Rochefoucaulds.  The  chateau  itself  is  situated 
in  a  solitary  spot  overlooking  a  valley  shaded  by  woods,  and 
with  broad  cornfields  to  the  north.  Eugenie  says  in  her 
Journal  ihat  the  surrounding  country  is  'a  great  empty 
desert,  or  peopled  almost  as  the  earth  was  before  man  ap- 
peared on  it,  where  one  passes  whole  days  without  seeing 
anything  but  sheep,  or  hearing  anything  but  birds.'  A  little 
rivulet  gurgles  close  under  a  terrace  in  front  of  the  windows. 
The  house  was  furnished  in  the  simplest  style,  for  the  family 
was  not  affluent.     She  thus  describes  it : — 

Oui-  rooms  are  all  white,  without  mirrors  or  a  trace  of  luxury  ;  the  dining-room 
has  a  sideboard  and  chairs,  with  two  windows  that  look  out  upon  the  wood  at  the 
north  ;  the  other  saloon  at  the  side  has  a  sofa,  in  the  centre  a  round  table,  some 
straw-bottomed  chairs,  an  old  arm-chair  worked  in  tapestry,  where  Maurice  used 
to  sit  (a  sacred  piece  of  furniture),  two  glass  doors  on  the  terrace,  the  terrace 
overlooking  a  green  valley  where  a  rivulet  flows  ;  and  in  the  saloon  a  beautiful 
Madonna  with  her  infant  Jesus,  a  gift  by  the  Queen — such  is  our  abode. 

Monsieur  and  Madame  de  Guerin  had  four  children,  of 
whom  Eugenie  was  the  second.  She  was  born  in  1805,  ^ve 
years  before  her  youngest  brother  Maurice,  to  whom  she  may 
be  said  to  have  devoted  her  whole  existence.  The  difference 
in  their  ages  made  her-  feel  towards  him,  as  she  expressed  it, 
more  like  a  mother  than  a  sister.  The  other  children  were,  a 
sister,  Marie,  or  Mimi,  as  she  was  called,  and  a  brother,  the 
eldest  of  the  family,  named  Ercmbcrt.  They  lost  their  mother 
at  a  comparatively  early  age,  when  Eugenie  was  thirteen 
years  old. 

This  was  Eugenie's  first  sorrow,  and  it  made  a  profound 
impression  upon  her  mind.    She  was  religious  from  her  cradle, 

T  2 


276  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

and  the  loss  of  her  mother  deepened  her  convictions  and  sanc- 
tified her  faith.  She  says,  in  her  Journal,  Dec.  31,  1839,  "^'^'i^h 
reference  to  it : — 

From  being  a  merry  and  laughing  girl  I  became  pensive  and  reserved  ;  my 
life  suddenly  changed  :  there  was  a  flower  drooping  and  broken  in  a  coffin.  From 
that  epoch  dates  a  development  in  my  faith,  a  i-eligious  impulse,  a  love  of  God, 
which  carried  me  away  from  all  earthly  things,  and  which  left  me  that  which  sus- 
tains me  now,  a  hope  in  God  which  early  consoled  me. 

Both  she  and  Maurice  were  gifted  with  a  rare  intelligence. 
Both  were  born  poets  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word.  Both 
clothed  their  thoughts  spontaneously  in  verse  which  gushed 
from  them  like  a  fountain,  and  the  prose  of  both  was  poetry. 
Wandering  in  the  solitary  woods  hand  in  hand,  they  passed 
their  childhood  together,  '  like  twin  cherries  on  one  stalk,' 
clinging  to  each  other  v.ath  inexpressible  fondness  ;  and  each 
might  say  to  the  other : — 

For  sure  our  souls  were  near  allied,  and  thine 
Cast  in  the  same  poetic  mould  as  mine. 

Eugenie  showered  upon  the  little  Maurice  the  treasures  of  her 
love,  and  he  returned  it  with  all  the  warmth  of  his  young 
heart.  One  of  his  teachers  said  to  his  father,  '  You  have  there 
a  transcendent  child.'  From  his  earliest  infancy,  his  delight 
— or,  rather,  his  passion — was  the  contemplation  of  Nature. 
His  sister  says,  in  a  few  brief  memoranda  she  drew  up  for  a 
notice  that  was  to  be  prefixed  to  an  edition  of  his  works  after 
his  death, — 

Maurice  was,  as  a  child,  imaginative  and  a  dreamer.  He  passed  long  periods 
of  time  in  gazing  on  the  horizon,  under  the  shadow  of  the  trees.  He  had  a 
peculiar  affection  for  an  almond  tree,  beneath  which  he  used  to  take  refuge  when 
he  felt  the  slightest  emotion.     I  have  seen  him  stand  there  whole  hours. 

He  used,  as  a  boy,  to  declaim  in  the  open  air,  and  made  a 
rustic  pulpit  of  a  grotto  in  the  woods,  where  he  preached  to 
his  sistcrs^his  only  audience.  They  called  it  the  pulpit  of 
Chrysostom.  He  quitted  home  to  attend  a  school  at  Tou- 
louse, and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  went  to  the  Stanislaus 
College,  in  Paris,  where  he  remained  five  }'ears  and  brilliantly 
distinguished  himself.  During  all  that  period  he  never  visited 
his  home,  for  Cayla  was  far  distant  and  travelling  was  expen- 
sive. When  he  came  back,  his  sister  remarked  in  him  an  in- 
crease of  melancholy,  which  was  the  habitual  feature  of  his 


EUGENIE  DE   GUEREV.  277 

character.  In  a  letter  written  in  1828,  apparently  in  a  fit  of 
deep  dejection,  to  the  Abbe  Briquet,  one  of  the  professors 
at  the  college,  he  attributes  this  to  early  sorrows.  He 
says  : — 

You  know  my  birth  :  it  is  honourable — that  is  all  ;  for  poverty  and  misfortune 
are  hereditary  in  my  family,  and  the  majority  of  my  relatives  have  died  in  trouble.  I 
tell  you  this,  because  I  believe  that  it  may  have  had  an  influence  upon  my  character. 

The  first  years  of  my  life  were  extremely  sad.      At  the  age  of  six  I  had 

no  longer  a  mother.  An  eyewitness  of  the  prolonged  grief  of  my  father,  and  often 
surrounded  by  scenes  of  mourning,  I  perhaps  then  contracted  the  habit  of  sadness. 
Living  a  life  of  retirement  in  the  country  with  my  family,  my  childhood  was 
solitary.  I  never  knew  those  games  nor  that  noisy  joy  which  accompany  early 
years. 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  he  had  the  image  of  death  con- 
stantly before  his  eyes,  and  his  dreams  were  of  the  tomb. 
Clearly  his  mind  was  then  in  a  very  morbid  state.  He  told 
his  sister  that  the  sentiment  in  which  they  resembled  each 
other  was  melancholy — '  an  affection  of  the  soul  which  had 
been  often  turned  into  ridicule  owing  to  its  abuse,  but  which, 
when  natural,  ennobled  the  heart  and  became  even  sublime.' 

At  the  end  of  1832,  at  his  own  earnest  request,  Maurice 
was  allowed  to  join  the  little  society  at  La  Chenaie,  in 
Brittany,  half  Benedictine,  half  secular,  of  which  the  Abbe 
de  la  Mennais — that  lost  star  in  the  firmament  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church — was  the  head.  But  he  had  not  then  thrown 
off  his  allegiance  to  the  Pope,  nor  startled  the  world  with  the 
publication  of  his  '  Paroles  d'un  Croyant'  Lacordaire  and 
Montalembert  were  still  amongst  his  disciples.  The  com- 
munity consisted  of  the  Abbe  de  La  Mennais,  Abbd  Gerbet, 
and  six  or  seven  young  men  who  pursued  their  studies  chiefly 
with  a  view  to  a  monastic  life.  La  Chenaie  was  a  kind  of  Port 
Royal  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  stood  solitary  amongst 
boundless  woods,  '  an  oasis,'  as  Maurice  de  Guerin  called  it, 
'  amidst  the  steppes  of  Britanny.'  In  front  of  the  house  was 
a  large  garden,  divided  into  two  by  a  terrace  planted  with 
limes,  and  at  the  extremity  was  a  chapel  in  which  they  offered 
up  their  daily  devotions.  In  the  following  passage  in  a  letter 
to  his  sister  Maurice  describes  the  famous  Abbe,  the  Pytha- 
goras of  the  establishment : — 

The  great  man  is  little,  frail,  pale,  with  grey  eyes,  oblong  head,  a  nose  large 
and  long,  his  forehead  deeply  furrowed  with  wrinkles  which  descend  between  the 
eyebrows  to  the  commencement  of  the  nose  :  dressed  in  a  complete  suit  of  coarse 


278         £SSAyS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

grey  cloth  from  head  to  foot ;  running  about  his  room  in  a  way  that  would  tire  my 
young  limbs,  and  when  we  go  out  for  a  walk  marching  always  at  the  head  of  us, 
covered  with  a  straw  hat  as  old  and  worn  as  that  of  Charles  de  Bayne. 

Maurice  stayed  at  La  Chenaie  until  the  society  was 
broken  up,  in  September  1833,  by  the  pressure  of  ecclesias- 
tical authority.  While  there,  he  nourished  his  native  melan- 
choly with  the  tender  reminiscences  of  an  early  and  lost  love. 
We  know  no  more  of  the  circumstances  than  that  the  name 
of  the  object  of  his  attachment  was  Louise.  He  wrote  poetry 
in  secret,  and  confided  the  outpourings  of  his  muse  to  one 
intimate  friend,  M.  de  Marzan,  with  whom  he  used  to  roam  in 
the  solitude  of  the  woods.  Of  course  he  kept  up  a  correspon- 
dence with  Eugenie,  and  some  of  the  letters  have  been  pre- 
served and  published,  as  also  a  journal,  now  well  known  as  the 
'  Cahier  Vert,'  in  which  he  noted  down  his  impressions  and 
feelings  just  as  they  occurred.  The  last  entry  in  it  is  the 
following  : — 

I  have  travelled.  I  know  not  what  movement  of  my  destiny  has  carried  me 
along  the  banks  of  a  river  to  the  sea.  I  have  seen  on  the  banks  of  that  river 
plains  where  nature  is  puissant  and  gay— royal  and  ancient  dwellings  marked  with 
memories  which  keep  their  place  in  the  sad  legends  of  humanity — numerous  cities, 

and  the  ocean  rumbling  in  the  far  distance The  course  of  travel  is 

delightful.     Oh  !  who  will  set  me  afloat  on  the  Nile  ? 

Wordsworth  himself  was  not  a  more  ardent  admirer  nor  a 
closer  observer  of  natural  scenery  than  Maurice  de  Guerin. 
His  love  of  Nature  was  a  worship  and  a  passion,  and  her  ever- 
changing  forms  were  to  him  little  less  than  beings  endowed 
with  life. 

'Still  snow,'  he  writes,  in  the  month  of  March,  'torrents  of  rain,  gusts  of 
wind,  cold.  Poor  Brittany  !  you  have  need  of  a  little  verdure  to  cheer  your 
sombre  physiognomy.  Oh  !  cast  off  quick  your  winter  cloak,  and  take  your 
mantle  of  spring— a  tissue  of  leaves  and  flowers.  When  shall  I  see  the  folds  of 
your  robes  floating  in  the  air,  the  sport  of  the  winds  ? ' 

Again  : — 

I  have  paid  a  visit  to  the  primroses.  Each  bore  its  little  burden  of  snow,  and 
bent  its  head  beneath  the  weight.  Those  pretty  flowers,  so  richly  coloured,  pro- 
duced a  charming  efi"ect  under  their  white  head-dresses.  I  have  seen  whole  tufts 
of  them  crowned  with  a  single  block  of  snow.  All  those  smiling  flowers  thus 
veiled  and  leaning  their  heads  towards  each  other  were  like  a  group  of  young 
girls  surprised  by  a  wave  and  sheltering  themselves  under  a  white  sheet. 

Describing  a  mist  which,  as  it  curled  upwards,  unveiled 
the  mountain  tops  : — 

One  would   have  believed  he  saw  old  darkness  fleeing  away,  and  God  like 


EUGENIE  DE   GUERIN.  279 

a  statuary  removing  with  his  hand  the' drapery  which  covered  his  work, — and 
the  earth  exposed,  in  all  the  purity  of  its  primitive  forms,  to  the  rays  of  the  tirst 
sun. 

Again,  in  a  different  strain  : — 

The  winter  is  passing  away  with  a  smile It  is  another  step  of  Time 

that  is  gained.  Oh  !  why  can  it  not,  like  the  coursers  of  the  Immortals,  reach  at 
a  bound  the  limits  of  its  duration. 

But  he  did  not  pass  all  his  time  in  poetic  reveries.  He 
was  a  diligent  student,  and  made  himself  master  of  Greek, 
Latin,  English,  and  German.  In  a  letter  to  his  sister,  written 
a  little  later,  he  mentions  his  partiality  for  Byron  and  Scott 
— le  bon  homme  Walter  Scott — and  says  he  was  then  reading 
'  Faust,'  which  he  describes  as  a  work  that  '  might  have  been 
written  by  an  angel  under  the  dictation  of  the  Devil' 

When  the  Abbe  de  La  Mennais  was  compelled  to  dismiss 
his  little  band  of  students,  they  migrated  to  the  monastic 
establishment  of  Ploermel,  which  was  under  the  direction  of  a 
brother  of  their  former  chief,  himself  also  an  Abbe.  Maurice 
quitted  La  Chenaie  with  profound  regret  ;  but  he  said,  '  Al- 
though my  grief  is  very  bitter,  I  will  not  hang  my  harp  on  the 
willows  by  the  water-courses,  because  the  Christian,  unlike  the 
Israelite,  ought  to  sing  the  Lord's  song,  and  the  song  of  the 
servant  of  the  Lord,  in  a  strange  land.'  At  Ploermel  he  was 
not  happy ;  he  felt  oppressed  by  the  monotony  of  his  daily 
life,  and  revolted  against  the  narrow  strictness  of  the  disci- 
pline. He  pined  for  a  more  active  sphere,  and  in  one  of  his 
letters  thus  expressed  himself :  '  I  would  rather  run  the  risks 
of  an  adventurous  life  than  allow  myself  to  be  thus  strangled 
by  rule.'  He  was  then  a  warm  champion  of  the  cause  of  his 
former  teacher  ;  and  speaking  of  his  quarrel  with  the  Pope, 
said,  *  Even  if  the  Pope  condemned  him,  is  there  not  in 
Heaven  a  court  of  appeal  1 '  At  this  period  of  his  life  he 
suffered  intense  agony  from  a  strange  and  miserable  feeling 
of  utter  incapacity.  He  humbled  himself  to  the  dust  under 
an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  intellect  of  others,  and  a  sense  of 
his  own  inferiority.  His  depreciation  of  his  own  powers  was 
absurdly  wrong  ;  but  the  distress  he  endured  in  consequence 
vv-as  indescribable.  This  morbid  feeling  increased  upon  him 
as  the  period  drew  near  when,  according  to  his  own  resolve, 
he  was  about  to  exchange  the  monastic  solitudes  of  Britanny 


28o         £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

for  the  bustle  of  the  metropolis  and  the  stern  realities  of 
active  life — La  Chenaie  and  Ploermel  for  Paris,  His  delicate 
organisation,  where  disease  was  already  at  work,  made  him 
shrink  from  the  rough  tumults  of  the  world  ;  and  he  thought 
himself  wholly  unfit  to  contend  for  '  the  immortal  garland,' 
which,  to  use  the  words  of  Milton,  '  is  to  be  won  not  without 
dust  and  heat.'  But  a  sense  of  duty  nerved  him  for  the 
struggle.  He  said,  '  I  toil  simply  and  solely  for  my  father 
and  my  friends  :  all  my  forces  are  in  them ;  and  it  is  not  I 
who  work,  but  they  who  work  in  me.' 

Before,  however,  he  started  for  Paris  he  paid  a  visit  to  his 
friend  M.  Hyppolyte  de  la  Morvonnais,  who,  with  his  young 
wife  and  an  only  daughter,  had  a  charming  residence  in  Bri- 
tanny  called  Le  Val,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Arguenon,  not 
far  from  St.  Malo,  on  the  coast.  From  the  Val  d'Arguenon 
he  went  to  Paris,  where  he  hired  a  chamber  at  twenty  francs 
a  month,  and  struggled  manfully  to  maintain  himself  by 
writing  essays  for  the  newspapers,  and  afterwards  by  giving 
instruction  as  a  tutor  to  young  men  attending  or  preparing 
for  the  University.  He  was  at  first  astonished  to  find  his 
articles  accepted.  With  unaffected  humility  he  speaks  of  them 
in  language  which,  now  that  his  genius  is  recognised,  can 
hardly  be  read  without  a  smile  : — 

'I  write  boldly,'  he  says,  'a  quantity  of  articles,  which  are  received,  I  know 
not  by  what  miracle,  in  a  little  newspaper.  I  know  not,  in  truth,  which  I  ought 
most  to  wonder  at,  the  excess  of  goodness  in  men  who  accept  such  poor  essays,  or 
my  incredible  assurance  in  launching  such  stupidities  into  the  world.' 

But  In  the  meantime  his  intercourse  with  the  Abbe  de  La 
Mennais  had  borne  its  natural  fruit,  and  he  had  become  un- 
settled in  his  faith,  even  if  he  was  not  quite  an  unbeliever. 
This  caused  great  distress  to  his  sister  Eugenie,  who  perhaps 
exaggerated  the  extent  of  the  mischief  At  all  events  she 
feared  that  her  brother  had  ceased  to  pray,  and  her  Journal 
at  this  period  contains  several  allusions  to  the  subject.  On 
August  4,  1835,  she  writes  : — 

O  !  my  friend,  if  you  knew  how  the  soul  in  affliction  fmds  sweet  consolation 
in  God  !  what  force  it  derives  from  the  Divine  power. 

And  on  January  26,  1838,  when  he  had  returned  to  Paris, 
after  paying  a  short  visit  to  home  : — 

Maurice,  my  dear  Maurice,  oh  !  what  need  I  have  of  you  and  God  !     There- 


EUGENIE  DE   GUERTN.  28 1 

fore,  in  taking  leave  of  you,  I  went  to  church,  where  one  can  pray  and  weep  at 
ease.  What  do  you  do,  who  do  not  pray,  when  you  are  sad,  when  you  have  your 
heart  broken?  For  myself,  I  feel  that  I  have  need  of  superhuman  consolation  — 
that  I  must  have  God  for  my  friend,  when  that  which  I  love  causes  me  to  suffer. 

This  was  until  the  latter  end  of  her  brother's  life  the  one 
drop  of  bitterness  in  her  cup  of  joy  as  regarded  him.  No 
pride  in  his  intellectual  powers,  no  conviction,  comforting  as  it 
was,  that  in  the  midst  of  temptation  his  morals  were  pure, 
could  make  her  forget  that  he  had  ceased  to  be  a  follower  of 
the  Cross.  Her  passionate  prayer  to  Heaven  was  that  he 
might  return  like  a  wandering  sheep  to  the  fold  of  his 
Saviour,  and  be  a  partaker  in  the  glorious  hope  of  a  blessed 
immortality,  which  was  the  support  and  consolation  of  her 
life.  And  her  prayers,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  were  not 
in  vain. 

During  his  residence  in  Paris  Maurice  met  with  Caroline 
de  Gervais,  a  young  lady  who  was  born  at  Calcutta,  and  had 
only  lately  come  to  France,  having  lost  her  father.  An  attach- 
ment sprang  up  between  them,  and  she  became  his  affianced 
bride.  Eugenie  calls  her  '  a  charming  Eve  come  from  the 
Orient  for  a  paradise  of  a  few  days.'  But  in  the  meantime 
seeds  of  consumption  had  already  been  sown  in  his  delicate 
frame,  and  the  state  of  his  health  caused  serious  alarm  to  his 
affectionate  family  and  above  all  to  his  devoted  sister.  Her 
letters  addressed  to  him  have  by  some  mischance  been  lost ; 
but  she  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  a  private  Journal  for  his 
eye  alone.  In  this  she  noted  down  her  thoughts  as  they 
occurred,  and  the  little  occurrences  of  her  daily  life,  in  the 
pious  hope  that  as  he  from  time  to  time  perused  it  he  might, 
though  absent,  be  as  it  were  present  amongst  them,  and  might 
feel  himself  surrounded  in  the  midst  of  the  dangers  of  Paris 
and  the  world  by  the  sweet  and  holy  influences  of  home.  She 
did  this  at  his  especial  request,  and  no  more  welcome  packet 
ever  reached  him  than  that  w^hich  contained  his  sister's  diar}-. 
It  is  to  this  Journal  that  we  purpose  to  introduce  our  readers. 
She,  however,  little  thought  that  it  would  meet  the  public  eye. 
In  one  of  the  entries,  dated  August  24,  1835,  she  says,  '  TJiis 
is  not  for  the  public,  it  belongs  to  my  inmost  feelings,  to  niy 
soul:  IT  IS  FOR  ONE.'  It  was  written  on  separate  paper- 
books  or  cahiers,  as  she  calls  them,  for  the  convenience  of 


282  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  A  AW  NARRATIVE. 

transmission  to  her  brother  by  the  post,  and  some  of  them  are 
unfortunately  lost.  Of  those  which  remain  the  first  is  dated 
Cayla,  November  15,  1834. 

Before  his  marriage  took  place  Maurice,  after  five  years' 
absence,  returned  home,  and  spent  six  happy  months  at  Cayla. 
Speaking  of  this  period  his  sister  says  :— 

Those  six  months  with  us,  when  he  was  ill,  and  so  much  beloved,  had  again 
strongly  attached  him  to  this  place.  Five  years  without  seeing  us  had  made  him 
perhaps  a  little  lose  sight  of  our  tenderness  ;  but  having  found  it  again  he  had  re- 
turned it  with  all  his  own — he  had  so  completely  renewed  all  his  relations  with 
the  family  that  when  he  left  us  death  alone  could  have  broken  them.  He  had  so 
assured  me.  His  errors  were  past — his  illusions  of  heart  had  vanished  ;  from  a 
feeling  of  need,  and  by  his  primitive  tastes,  he  embraced  sentiments  of  a  good 
kind.  I  knew  all.  I  followed  his  steps ;  from  the  fiery  circle  of  the  passions 
(very  brief  for  him)  I  have  seen  him  pass  into  that  of  the  Christian  life.  Beautiful 
soul  !  soul  of  Maurice  !  God  had  withdrawn  it  from  the  world  to  shelter  it  in 
Heaven. 

It  was  so  arranged  that  Eugenie  should  accompany  the 
rest  of  the  family  to  Paris,  and  be  present  at  the  marriage. 
This  was  a  great  event  in  her  life,  for  she  had  never  before 
undertaken  so  long  a  journey.  A  visit  to  the  neighbouring 
towns  of  Gaillac  or  Alby  had  been  the  utmost  limit  of  her 
wanderings.  But  although  her  diffidence  in  herself  made  her 
fancy  that  she  was  unfitted  for  society,  we  are  assured  that  in 
the  capital  of  France  her  conversation  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  those  who  met  her  ;  and  owing  to  her  tact  and  the  native 
grace  and  dignity  of  her  manner,  she  was  in  reality  as  much 
at  home  in  the  glittering  salons  of  Paris  as  in  the  quiet  and 
rustic  retirement  of  Le  Cayla.  She  was,  however,  little  known, 
and  it  was  not  till  long  after  her  death  that  her  name  reached 
the  ears  of  those  who  would  most  cordially  have  welcomed 
and  received  her. 

Maurice  returned  to  Le  Cayla  on  July  8,  1839;  but  his 
disease  had  already  made  great  progress,  and  he  was  within 
sight  of  the  bourne  of  rest  which  he  had  so  ardently  longed 
for.  Ten  days  afterwards  his  sister  notes  in  her  Journal  the 
end  of  his  melancholy  existence.  He  was  buried  in  the 
cemetery  at  Ardillac,  and  it  is  a  curious  trait  of  the  state  of 
feeling  in  France  at  this  time,  even  before  the  Revolution  of 
1848  had  inaugurated  the  reign  of  Liberty  and  Equality,  that 
when  the  De  Gu^rin  family  placed  a  stone  crucifix  in  the 
churchyard  to  mark  the  resting-place  of  their  beloved  Maurice, 


EUGENIE  DE   GUERIN.  283 

there  was  a  strong  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  peasantry, 
who  thought  it  a  violation  of  the  equahty  of  death.  It  even 
became  necessary  to  guard  the  tomb  during  the  night  to 
prevent  its  spoHation.     Eugenie  says  in  her  Journal  : — 

Poor  sovereign  people  !  This  is  what  we  must  suffer  from  it ;  this  is  the  fruit 
of  their  knowledge.  In  times  past  all  would  have  crossed  themselves  before  that 
crucifix  which  to-day  they  talk  of  throwing  down  in  the  enlightened  times  in  which 
we  live.  Unhappy  times,  when  respect  for  holy  things  is  lost,  when  the  lowest 
pride  themselves  in  revolting  against  the  mournful  elevation  of  a  tomb  ! 

As  Eugenie  had  devoted  the  chief  part  of  her  existence  to 
her  brother  while  he  lived,  so  she  now  consecrated  the  re-  _ 
mainder  of  her  days  almost  exclusively  to  his  memory.  It 
cannot  be  denied  that  there  was  something  morbid  in  this. 
She  hugged  her  sorrow  to  her  heart,  and,  like  Rachel  weeping 
for  her  children,  refused  to  be  comforted.  But  she  mourned 
not  as  those  who  have  no  hope.  Across  the  dark  cloud  of 
her  sorrow  there  darted  a  ray  of  light,  and  that  was  the 
ineffable  comfort  she  found  in  the  conviction  that  Maurice  had 
died  a  sincere  Christian.  And  she  knew  that  his  life  had  been 
in  a  singular  degree  innocent  and  pure,  so  that  she  might  say 
of  him  what  was  said  by  Cowley  on  the  death  of  his  friend 
Hervey : — 

He,  like  the  stars,  to  which  he  now  is  gone, 

That  shine  with  beams  like  flame, 

Yet  burn  not  with  the  same, 
Had  all  the  light  of  youth,  of  the  fire  none. 

Her  great  anxiety  was  that  his  manuscripts  should  be 
published,  in  order  that  the  world  might  know  his  worth,  and 
estimate  the  treasure  it  had  lost.  An  eulogistic  notice  of  her 
brother  from  the  pen  of  Madame  Sand  appeared  in  the 
'Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,'  of  May  15,  1840.  This  first 
brought  Maurice's  name  before  the  public,  and  it  contained  a 
sort  of  prose  poem  called  *  Centaure,'  which  was  found  amongst 
his  papers.  The  idea  of  the  subject,  as  well  as  of  another 
short  piece  called  '  Bacchante,'  included  in  the  recent  edition 
of  his  works,  was  formed  in  the  course  of  several  visits  he 
paid  to  the  Museum  of  Antiquities  in  the  Louvre  in  company 
with  M.  Trebutien,  a  distinguished  antiquary,  and  Conservator 
of  the  Library  of  Caen.  He  is  also  the  friend  who  has  devoted 
himself  with  affectionate  zeal  to  the  task  of  publishing  the 
remains    of    both    brother    and    sister— '  his  mission,'   as  he 


284         ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

calls  it,  '  here  below.'  The  '  Centaure '  is  supposed  to  relate  to 
Melampus  the  story  of  his  birth  and  early  life  in  the  dark 
caverns  of  the  mountains.  We  will  quote  the  concluding 
passage  by  way  of  specimen  of  the  style  : — 

For  myself,  O  Melampus,  I  decline  into  old  age  tranquil  as  the  setting  of  the 
constellations.  I  preserve  still  sufficient  daring  to  scale  the  lofty  top  of  the  rocks, 
where  I  linger,  engaged  either  in  watching  the  wild  and  restless  clouds,  or  in 
viewing  the  watery  Hyades,  the  Pleiades  or  the  great  Orion  come  up  from  the 
horizon.  But  I  am  conscious  that  I  am  sinking,  and  fail  rapidly,  like  a  snow- 
flake  floating  on  the  waters,  and  that  soon  I  shall  pass  away  to  mingle  with  the 
rivers  that  flow  on  the  vast  bosom  of  the  earth. 

Unforeseen  difficulties  occurred  to  prevent  the  publication 
in  a  collected  form  of  what  Maurice  had  written.  Eugenie 
was  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  mysteries  of  publication,  and 
confided  entirely  to  others  the  fulfilment  of  the  wish  which 
was  now  dearest  to  her  heart.  But  she  occupied  herself  dili- 
gently in  gathering  manuscripts  and  letters,  adding,  as  it  were, 
stone  to  stone  for  the  cairn  which  was  to  be  raised  to  her 
brother's  memory.  And  in  the  meantime,  with  a  broken 
heart,  at  different  intervals,  she  continued  her  Journal,  and 
still  addressed  it  to  him  with  the  touching  inscription  : — 

Still  to  him,  to  Mau'  ice  dead  ;  to  Maurice  in  Heaven.  He  was  the  glory  and 
the  joy  of  my  heart.  Oh  !  how  sweet  and  full  of  affection  is  the  name  of  Brother  ! 
Friday,  19  July,  at  11^  o'clock.     Eternal  date  ! 

At  last  the  book  appeared.'  It  was  published  at  the  end 
of  i860,  and  has  already  passed  through  several  editions.  It 
was  preceded  by  a  biographical  and  critical  notice  written  by 
M.  Sainte-Beuve,  one  of  the  first  of  French  critics.  He  calls 
the  '  Centaure  '  '  a  magnificent  and  singular  composition  .  .  . 
.  .  a  colossal  fragment  of  antique  marble,'  and  speaks  of  '  the 
youth  of  a  select  school,  a  scattered  generation  of  admirers. 
Avho  repeated  to  each  other  the  name  of  Guerin,  who  rallied 
round  that  young  memory,  honoured  it  in  secret  with  rapture, 
and  looked  forward  to  the  moment  when  the  complete  work 
would  be  delivered  to  them,  and  when  the  whole  soul  would 
be  discovered  to  them.'  This  strain  of  eulogy  appears  to  us 
to  be  extremely  exaggerated  ;  but  the  romantic  narrative  of 
the  lives  of  these  young  persons  has  excited  an  unusual  in- 
terest in  their  literary  efforts.    The  same  writer  also  speaks  of 

'  The  work  was  entitled  '  Maurice  The  new  edition  is  entitled  '  Maurice  de 
de  Guerin.     Rdiqiiia,   2  vols,    in  16.'      Guerin.     Journal,  Letlres  et  Poemes,' 


EUGENIE  DE  GUERIN.  2S5 

Eugenic  as  *  his  equal,  if  not  his  superior,  in  talent  and  in 
soul'  She  did  not  Hvc  to  sec  the  wish  of  her  heart  gratified 
by  the  pubhcation  of  her  brother's  works,  for,  on  the  13th  of 
May,  1848,  she  herself  died,  and  rejoined  him  in  heaven.  She 
lived,  after  her  brother's  death,  very  much  the  life  of  a  reli- 
gious recluse,  devoted  to  works  of  charity  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. Her  father  survived  her  only  six  months,  and  Erembert 
died  two  years  afterwards,  leaving  a  widow  and  one  daughter. 
Caroline  returned  to  India,  and,  marrying  again,  died  young  ; 
and  now  of  the  whole  family  there  remain,  we  believe,  only 
Madlle.  Marie  de  Guerin,  and  the  daughter  of  Erembert,  who 
still  inhabit  the  old  chateau  of  Le  Cayla. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  quote  some  extracts  from  the 
Journal,  taken  almost  at  random,  conscious  as  we  are  how 
difficult  it  is  to  choose  where  all  is  so  beautiful,  and  conscious 
also,  alas  !  how  much  of  their  beauty  will  be  lost  in  a  trans- 
lation. Almost  the  whole  of  them  were  written  by  Eugenie 
in  her  solitary  cJianibrctte  at  Cayla,  very  often  while  the 
nightingale  was  pouring  out  its  song  beneath  her  window,  and 
the  glorious  canopy  of  a  Southern  sky  was  studded  with  stars 
before  her  view.  It  was  there  that  she  most  loved  to  be — '  an 
anchorite,'  as  she  expressed  it,  'in  her  cell'  *  Like  the  dove,' 
she  said,  '  I  love  to  return  every  evening  to  my  nest ;  I  covet 
no  other  place  : — 

Je  ii'aime  que  les  fleurs  que  nos  ruisseaux  arrosent. 
Que  les  pres  dont  mes  pas  ont  foule  le  gazon  ; 
Je  n'aime  que  les  bois  ou  nos  oiseaux  se  posent, 
Mon  ciel  de  tous  les  jours  et  son  meme  horizon. 

Nothing  could  be  more  simple  or  more  uneventful  than  her 
daily  life.  In  her  little  room,  with  her  distaff  by  her  side,  she 
span  and  read,  and  thought  and  wrote  ;  now  caressing  a  pet 
pigeon,  or  linnet,  or  goldfinch,  now  putting  aside  her  Journal 
or  her  work  to  kneel  down  and  pray,  now  rising  like  Eve,  'on 
hospitable  thoughts  intent,'  to  descend  into  the  kitchen  and 
preside  over  the  mysteries  of  the  oven,  or  to  go  out  and  carry 
alms  to  some  poor  cripple  in  the  village. 

She  describes  her  favourite  room  thus  : — 

The  air  this  morning  is  mild,  the  birds  sing  as  in  spring,  and  a  little  sun  pays 
a  visit  to  my  chamber.  I  love  it  thus,  and  am  as  much  pleased  with  it  as  with 
the  most  beautiful  place  in  the  world,  lonely  as  it  is.  The  reason  is  that  I  mnke 
of  it  what  I  please,  a  saloon,  a  church,  an  academy.  I  am  there,  when  I  like, 
in  company  with  Lamartine,  Chateaubriand,  Fenelon  :  a  crowd  of  men  of  genius 
surrounds  me  ;  anon  there  are  saints. 


286         ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

On  the  chimney-piece  was  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  above 
that  a  print  of  Christ,  above  that  again  a  portrait  of  Saint 
Theresa,  and,  surmounting  all,  a  picture  of  the  Annunciation  ; 
'  so  that,'  she  says,  '  the  eye  follows  a  celestial  line  as  it  gazes 
and  travels  upwards.     It  is  a  ladder  which  leads  to  heaven.' 

Under  the  date  November  i8,  1834,  she  writes  :— 

I  am  furious  against  the  grey  cat.  That  naughty  animal  has  just  carried  off  a 
little  frozen  pigeon  which  I  was  warming  at  the  corner  of  the  fire.  It  began  to 
revive,  poor  creature  !  I  wished  to  tame  it ;  it  would  have  loved  me  ;  and  all 
that  cranched  by  a  cat  !  What  mishaps  in  life  !  This  event,  and  all  those  of  to- 
day, have  passed  in  the  kitchen  ;.  it  is  there'  that  I  stay  all  the  morning  and  part 
of  the  evening  since  I  have  been  without  Mimi.  It  is  necessary  to  superintend 
the  cook,  and  papa  sometimes  comes  down,  and  I  read  to  him  near  the  oven,  or 
at  the  comer  of  the  fire,  some  morsels  of  the  antiquities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Church.  This  big  book  astonished  Pierril  (a  servant  lad).  '  What  a  lot  of  words 
are  in  it ! '  he  said,  in  his  patois.  He  is  a  droll  creature.  One  evening  he  asked 
me  if  the  soul  was  immortal,  and,  afterwards,  what  a  philosopher  was.  We  dis- 
cussed grand  questions,  as  you  see.  Upon  my  answering  that  it  was  a  person  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  he  remarked,  '  Then,  Mademoiselle,  you  are  a  philo- 
sopher.' This  was  said  with  an  air  of  naivete  and  sincerity  which  might  have 
flattered  Socrates,  but  which  made  me  laugh  so  that  all  my  seriousness  as  a  catechist 
was  put  to  flight  for  the  evening.  There  he  is,  with  his  little  pig  searching  for 
truffles.  If  he  comes  this  way,  1  will  go  and  join  him,  and  ask  him  if  he  still  finds 
me  with  the  air  of  a  philosopher. 

With  whom  would  you  believe  I  have  been  this  morning  at  the  corner  of  the 
kitchen  fire  !  With  Plato.  I  hardly  ventured  to  say  so,  but  my  eyes  lighted 
upon  him  and  I  wished  to  make  his  acquaintance.  I  am  only  at  the  first  pages. 
lie  seems  to  me  admirable;  this  Plato,  but  I  think  it  a  singular  idea  of  his  to  place 
health  before  beauty  in  the  catalogue  of  blessings  which  God  has  given  us.  If  he 
had  consulted  a  woman,  Plato  would  not  have  written  that ;  do  you  think  he 
would  ?     I  think  not ;  and  yet,  remembering  that  I  am  a   '  philosopher,'  I  am  a 

little  of  his  opinion When  I  was  a  child  I   should  have  wished  to  be 

pretty.  I  dreamed  only  of  beauty  because  I  said  to  myself,  mamma  would  have 
loved  me  more.  Thank  God  !  that  childishness  is  past,  and  I  desire  no  other 
beauty  than  that  of  the  soul.  Perhaps  even  in  that  respect  I  am  a  child,  as  here- 
tofore.    I  should  like  to  resemble  the  angels. 

2i^h  April,  1835.— I  know  not  why  it  has  become  necessary  for  me  to  write, 
if  it  were  only  two  words.  To  write  is  my  sign  of  life,  as  it  is  of  the  fountains  to 
flow.  I  would  not  say  it  to  others  ;  it  would  appear  folly.  Who  knows  what 
this  outpouring  of  my  soul  is,  this  unfolding  itself  before  God  and  before  some 
one  ?  I  say  some  one,  for  it  seems  to  me  that  you  are  here,  and  that  this  paper 
is  you.  God,  methinks,  hears  me  :  He  even  answers  me  in  a  way  which  the  soul 
understands,  and  which  one  cannot  express.  When  I  am  alone,  seated  here,  or 
on  my  knees  before  my  crucifix,  I  fancy  myself  Mary,  listening  tranquilly  to  the 
words  of  Jesus. 

There  is  one  passage  twice  repeated,  in  which,  after 
quoting  an  extract  from  the  works  of  Leibnitz,  where  he  speaks 
of  '  a  pious,  grave,  and  discreet  confessor,  as  a  great  instrument 
of  God  for  the  salvation  of  souls,'  she  bursts  out  into  a  strain 


EUGENIE  DE   GUERIX.  287 

of  fervent  rapture  on  the  subject,  in  language  which,  however 
exaggerated,  shows  how  deep  and  sincere  was  her  conviction 
of  the  benefit  she  derived  from  the  Confessional.  Under  date 
April  28,  1835,  she  writes  : — 

The  world  knows  not  what  a  confessor  is — tliat  friend  of  the  soul,  its  most  in- 
timate confidant,  its  physician,  its  master,  its  liglit ;  the  man  who  binds  us  and 
unbinds  us,  who  gives  us  peace,  who  opens  to  us  heaven,  to  whom  we  speak  on  our 
knees,  calling  him  like  God  our  Father.  Faith  makes  him  truly  God  and  Father. 
When  I  am  at  his  feet  I  see  in  him  nothing  else  but  Jesus  listening  to  Magdalene, 
and  forgiving  her  much  because  she  has  loved  much.  Confession  is  only  an  over- 
flow of  repentance  in  love. 

We  will  give  two  or  three  more  extracts  from  her  Journal 
of  the  same  year  : — 

I  August,  1835. — This  evening  my  turtle-dove  has  died  ;  I  know  not  from  what 
cause,  for  it  continued  to  coo  up  to  to-day.  Poor  little  creature  !  what  regret  it 
causes  me  !  I  loved  it ;  it  was  white  ;  and  every  inoming  it  was  the  first  voice 
I  heard  under  my  window,  in  winter  as  well  as  in  summer.  Was  it  mourning  or 
joy  ?  I  know  not,  but  its  songs  gave  me  pleasure.  Now  I  have  a  pleasure  the 
less.  Thus  each  day  we  lose  some  enjoyment.  I  mean  to  put  my  dove  under  a 
rosebush  on  the  terrace  ;  it  seems  to  me  that  it  will  be  well  there,  and  that  its 
soul  (if  soul  there  be)  will  repose  there  sweetly  in  that  nest  beneath  the  flowers. 
I  have  a  tolerably  strong  belief  in  the  souls  of  animals,  and  I  should  even  like 
there  to  be  a  little  paradise  for  the  good  and  the  gentle,  like  turtle-doves,  dogs, 
and  lambs.  But  what  to  do  with  wolves  and  other  wicked  minds  ?  To  damn 
them  ?     That  embarrasses  me 

24///.  —How  quickly  it  passed,  my  dear,  the  night  passed  in  thinking  of  you  ! 
The  day  dawned  when  I  fancied  it  was  midnight  !  it  was,  however,  three  o'clock, 
and  I  had  seen  many  stars  pass,  for  from  my  table  I  see  the  sky,  and  from  time  to 
time  I  regard  it  and  consult  it,  and  it  seem,  that  an  angel  dictates  to  me.  From 
what  source  except  from  on  high  can  there  occur  to  me  so  many  ideas,  tender, 
elevated,  sweet,  true  and  pure,  with  which  my  heart  is  filled  when  I  commune 
with  you  ?     Yes,  God  gives  them  to  me,  and  I  send  them  to  you. 

When  her  brother's  friend,  Hyppolyte  de  la  Morvonnais, 
had  lost  his  wife,  a  correspondence  was  kept  up  between  him 
and  Eugenie,  and  he  thanked  her  in  one  of  his  letters  for  her 
'  ineffably  tender'  thoughts.  Upon  this  she  says  in  her  Journal, 
August  27,  1835  : — 

I  feel  my  own  aridity,  but  I  feel  also  that  God,  when  He  pleases, 

makes  an  ocean  flow  over  this  bed  of  sand.  It  is  thus  with  so  many  simple  souls 
from  which  proceed  admirable  things,  because  they  are  in  direct  relation  with 
God,  without  science  and  without  pride.  So  I  lose  my  taste  for  books  ;  I  say  to 
myself,  '  What  can  they  teach  me  which  I  shall  not  know  one  day  in  Heaven  ? 
Let  God  be  my  master  and  my  study  ! '  I  do  thus,  and  I  find  myself  benefited 
by  it.  I  read  little,  I  go  out  little,  I  bury  myself  in  my  own  thoughts.  There 
many  things  are  said,  and  felt,  and  happen.  O  !  if  you  saw  them  !  but  what  good 
is  it  to  show  them?  God  alone  can  penetrate  the  sanctuary  of  the  soul.  Mine 
to-day  abounds  in  prayer  and  poetry.  It  is  a  wonder  to  me  how  those  two  foun- 
tains flow  together  in  me  and  in  others. 


c88  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Her  irind  was  too  sensitive,  and  her  feelings  were  too 
finely  strung  for  her  own  happiness.  Not  quarrelling  with 
the  tastes  of  others,  she  herself  cared  nothing  for  the  gaieties 
of  life,  and  a  certain  degree  of  restlessness  and  dissatisfaction 
is  visible  both  in  her  Journal  and  her  Correspondence,  Indeed, 
she  more  than  once  complains  oi  ennui  as  her  besetting  enemy: 
but  her  sure  refuge  was  religion,  and  she  was  rewarded  by  the 
gift  of  that  peace  which  passeth  all  understanding.  Thus  we 
find  her  saying  in  her  entry  dated  March  20,  1836: — 

To-day,  and  for  a  tolerably  long  time,  I  have  felt  calm,  with  peace  of  head 
and  heart,  a  state  of  grace  for  which  I  bless  God.  My  window  is  open ;  how 
calm  it  is  !  all  the  little  sounds  from  without  reach  me  ;  I  love  that  of  the  rivulet. 
Adieu  !  I  hear  at  this  moment  a  church-clock,  and  a  house-clock  that  answers  to 
it.  This  striking  of  hours  in  the  distance  and  in  the  hall  assumes  in  the  night 
something  of  a  mysterious  character.  I  think  of  the  Trappists,  who  awake  to 
pray  ;  of  the  sick,  who  count  in  suffering  all  their  hours ;  of  the  afflicted,  who 
weep  ;  of  the  dead,  who  sleep  frozen  in  their  bed.  Oh  !  how  the  night  makes 
serious  thoughts  occur  !  I  do  not  believe  that  the  wicked,  the  impious,  the  un- 
believer, are  as  perverse  in  the  night  as  in  the  day.  A  gentleman  who  doubts  many 
things  has  often  said  to  me  that  at  night  he  always  believed  in  hell.  The  reason 
apparently  is  that  in  the  daytime  external  objects  dissipate  our  thoughts  and  dis- 
tract our  soul  from  truth.  But  what  am  I  going  to  say  ?  I  had  to  speak  of  such 
sweet  things.  I  have  received  your  ribbon  this  evening,  the  net,  the  little  box 
with  the  beautiful  pen  and  the  pretty  little  billet.  All  this  I  have  touched,  tried, 
examined,  and  put  to  my  heart.     A  thousand  thanks  ! 

We  will  now  quote  two  or  three  passages  which  exhibit 
her  in  different  moods  : — 

5  Dec,  1834. — Papa  is  gone  this  morning  to  Gaillac,  and  here  we  are,  Mimi 
and  I,  sole  chatelaines  and  absolute  mistresses.  This  regency  is  not  amiss,  and 
pleases  me  well  enough  for  a  day,  but  not  longer.  Long  reigns  are  wearisome. 
It  is  enough  for  me  to  rule  over  Trilby  (a  favourite  dog),  and  get  her  to  come  to 
me  when  I  call  her,  or  when  I  ask  her  to  give  me  a  paw 

9  Dec,  1834. — I  have  just  been  warming  myself  at  all  the  fire-places  in  the 
hamlet.  It  is  a  round  which  I  make  from  time  to  time  with  Mimi,  and  which 
has  its  agremens.  To-day  it  was  a  visit  to  the  sick,  so  we  talked  of  remedies  and 
drinks — '  Take  this,  do  that  ;'  and  we  are  listened  to  with  as  much  attention  as 
any  doctor.  We  prescribed  for  a  little  child  who  was  ill  from  walking  bare- 
footed—to wear  wooden  shoes  ;  for  his  brother  who  was  lying  fiat  with  a  bad 
headache  — to  ]ntt  a  pillow  under  his  head  ;  that  has  relieved  him,  but  it  will  not 
cure  him,  I  fancy 

19  May,  1835.  — Here  I  am  at  the  window  listening  to  a  choir  of  nightingales 
which  sing  in  the  Moulinasse  wood  in  a  ravishing  style.  Oh  !  what  a  beautiful 
scene  !  Oh  !  what  a  beautiful  concert  !  which  I  leave  in  order  to  cany  alms  to 
poor  lame  Annette. 

II  March,  1836.  — I  have  great  joy  in  my  heart  to-day;  Evan  (her  other 
brother)  is  gone  to  confess.  I  hope  much  from  this  confession  with  our  gentle 
cure,  who  knows  how  to  speak  so  well  of  the  compassion  of  God.  It  is,  besides, 
Papa's  birthdiiy. 

I  May,  1837.- You  are  right  in  saying  that  I  employ  a  little  artifice 


EUGENIE  DE   GUERIN.  289 

to  conceal  my  Journal.  I  have,  however,  read  some  of  it  to  Papa,  but  not  ail.  My 
good  father  would,  perhaps,  be  somewhat  concerned  at  what  I  say,  and  at  wiiat 
now  and  then  occurs  to  me  in  my  soul.  An  air  of  sorrow  would  seem  to  him  a 
real  distress.  Let  us  hide  from  him  these  little  clouds ;  it  is  not  good  that  he 
should  see  them,  and  know  anything  else  of  me  except  the  calm  and  serene  side. 
A  daughter  out  to  be  so  sweet  and  gentle  to  her  father  !  We  ought  to  be  to  them 
almost  what  the  angels  are  to  God.  Between  brothers  and  sisters  the  case  is 
different  ;  there  is  less  restraint  and  more  abandon.  To  you,  then,  the  course  of 
my  life  and  of  my  heart,  just  as  it  comes. 

9  ]May,  1837. — A  day  passed  in  hanging  out  linen  to  dry  leaves  little  to  say. 
It  is,  however,  pretty  enough  to  stretch  white  linen  on  the  grass,  or  to  see  it  float- 
ing on  ropes.  One  is,  on  those  occasions,  if  so  pleased,  the  Nausicaa  of  Homer, 
or  one  of  those  princesses  in  the  Bible  who  washed  the  tunics  of  their  brothers. 

29  May,  1837. — Life  is  like  a  road  bordered  with  flowers,  trees,  bushes, 
herbs,  a  thousand  things  which  would  fix  without  end  the  eye  of  the  traveller  ; 
but  he  passes  on.  Oh  !  yes,  let  us  pass  on  without  lingering  too  much  on  what 
one  sees  on  earth,  where  everything  fades  and  dies.  Let  us  look  on  high,  let  us 
fix  our  eyes  on  the  skies  and  the  stars  ;  let  us  pass  from  them  to  the  heavens 
which  will  not  pass  away.  The  contemplation  of  Nature  leads  there  ;  from 
objects  of  sense  the  soul  mounts  to  the  regions  of  faith,  and  sees  the  creation  from 
on  high,  and  the  world  appears  then  quite  different. 

14  Feb.,  1838.— If  I  had  a  child  to  bring  up,  hov>^  gently  and  gaily  would  I  do 
it,  with  all  the  care  that  one  bestows  on  a  delicate  little  flower  !  Afterwards,  I 
would  speak  to  it  of  the  good  God  in  words  of  love  ;  I  would  tell  it  that  He  loves 
it  better  than  I  do  ;  that  He  gives  me  all  that  I  give  it,  and,  besides,  the  air,  the 
sun,  the  flowers  ;  that  He  has  made  the  sky  and  so  many  beautiful  stars.  Those 
stars,  I  remember  how  they  gave  me  a  beautiful  idea  of  God,  as  I  often  rose,  when 
I  was  put  to  bed,  to  gaze  upon  them  througli  the  little  window  at  the  foot  of  my 
bed. 

At  times  Eugenic  felt  an  almost  irresistible  longing  to 
enter  a  convent,  but  was  deterred  by  the  thought  of  her  home 
duties,  and  also  by  the  clinging  love  she  bore  to  her  father 
and  all  her  family.  Her  good  sense  and  acute  judgment  were 
hardly  less  remarkable  than  her  piety.  After  expressing  how 
much  she  enjoyed  reading  the  lives  of  hermits  and  recluses— 
'  at  least  such  as  are  not  inimitable  ; — as  to  the  others,  one 
admires  them  like  the  pyramids  '—she  goes  on  to  say  :— 

In  spite  of  this,  for  many  persons  the  '  Lives  of  the  Saints '  seems  to  me  a 
dangerous  book.  I  would  not  recommend  them  to  a  young  girl,  nor  even  to 
others  who  are  not  young.     Tlie   reading  has  such  an  efi"ect  on  the  heart,  which 

thus  loses  itself  sometimes,  even  for  God How  one  ought  to  watch  over 

a  young  woman  !— over  her  books,  her  correspondence,  her  companions,  her 
devotion,  evei7thing  which  demands  the  tender  attention  of  a  mother.  If  I  had 
had  mine,  I  remember  things  which   I  di<l  at  fourteen  years  of  age  which  she 

would  not  have  allowed  me  to  do So  Fran9ois  de  Sales  once  said  to 

some  nuns  who  begged  him  to  allow  them  to  go  barefoot,  '  Change  your  brains, 
and  keep  your  shoes.' 

Like  her  brother  Maurice,  she  was  an  accurate  and  imagi- 

u 


2  90  IiSSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

native  observer  of  external  nature,  and  very  prettily  could  she 
describe  the  objects  that  caught  her  attention.     Thus  : — 

I  love  the  snow  :  that  white  aspect  has  something  heavenly  in  it.  Mud  and 
bare  earth  displease  and  sadden  me.  To-day  I  perceive  only  the  traces  of  roads, 
and  the  feet  of  little  birds.  However  softly  they  alight,  they  leave  their  little 
tracks,  which  make  a  thousand  figures  in  the  snow.  It  is  pretty  to  see  those  small 
red  claws,  like  pencils  of  coral,  that  make  the  drawings. 

Or,  when  writing  in  the  wooded  country  of  the  Nivernois  : — 

It  is  in  the  sweet  air  of  May,  as  the  sun  rises  on  a  day  radiant  and  fragrant, 
that  pen  travels  over  the  paper.  It  does  one  good  to  rove  in  this  enchanting 
scenery  amongst  flowers,  and  birds,  and  verdure,  under  the  ample  blue  sky  of  the 
Nivernois.  I  like  much  its  graceful  goblet-shape,  and  those  little  white  clouds 
here  and  there,  like  cushions  of  cotton  hanging  to  give  repose  to  the  eye  in  that 
immensity. 

We  know  not  whether  Eugenie  was  ever  in  love  ;  but  she 
alludes  to  the  early  death  of  a  cousin  Victor  in  a  way  that 
makes  it  probable  that  she  cherished  for  him  a  tenderer  feel- 
ing than  that  of  friendship.  She  certainly  had  no  prejudice 
against  marriage,  and  in  one  passage  showed  that  she  had 
formed  visions  of  'love  in  a  cottage*  for  herself  which  were 
not  destined  to  be  realised.  On  February  9,  1838,  she  writes, 
half  seriously  and  half  in  jest  : — 

I  have  never  dreamed  of  grandeur  or  of  fortune,  but  how  often  of  a  small 
house  away  from  a  town,  very  clean,  with  its  wooden  furniture,  its  bright  earthen- 
ware, its  lattice-work  at  the  entrance — some  chickens,  and  myself  there  with — I 
known  not  whom — for  I  should  not  fancy  a  peasant  like  one  of  ours,  who  are 
boorish,  and  beat  their  wives  ! 

After  her  brother's  death  she — as  we  have  mentioned — 
continued  her  Journal,  and  still  addressed  it  to  him,  or  some- 
times to  one  of  his  surviving  friends,  a  M.  d'Aurevilly,  whom 
she  calls  her  *  brother  by  adoption.'  The  tone  of  it  now  be- 
comes inexpressibly  mournful,  although  the  thoughts  are  as 
beautiful  as  ever. 

It  begins  with  the  date  July  21,  1839  : — 

No,  my  beloved  one,  death  shall  not  separate  us,  it  shall  not  remove  you  from 
my  thoughts.  Death  separates  only  the  body  ;  the  soul,  in  place  of  being  there, 
is  in  Heaven,  and  this  change  of  dwelling  takes  away  nothing  from  its  affections. 
O  !  my  friend  Maurice,  Maurice,  are  you  far  from  me  ?  Do  you  hear  me  ?  What 
are  those  regions  where  you  now  are  ?  What  is  God,  so  beautiful,  so  good,  who 
makes  you  happy  by  His  ineffable  presence,  unveiling  for  you  eternity  ?  You 
see  what  I  wait  for,  you  possess  what  I  hope  for,  you  know  what  I  believe. 
Mysteries  of  the  other  world,  how  profound  you  are,  how  terrible  you  are,  but 
how  sweet  you  sometimes  are  !  yes,  very  sweet,  when  I  think  that  Ileaven  is  the 


EUGENIE  DE   GUERIN.  291 

place  of  liappiness All  my  life  will   be  a  life  of  mourning,   with   a 

widowed  heart,  without  intimate  union.     I  love  Marie,  and  my  surviving  brother 
much,  but  it  is  not  with  our  sympathy. 

On  August  17,  1839,  she  writes  : — 

Began  to  read  the  '  Saints  desirs  de  la  Mort,'  a  book  much  to  my  taste.  My 
soul  lives  in  a  coffin.  Oh  !  yes  entombed,  sepulchred  in  thee  my  friend  ;  just  as  I 
lived  in  thy  life  I  am  dead  in  thy  death.  Dead  to  all  happiness,  to  all  hope  here 
below.  I  had  placed  all  in  thee  like  a  mother  on  her  son  ;  I  was  less  of  a  sister 
than  a  mother. 

She  expresses  the  same  idea  in  some  unpubhshed  verses 
addressed  to  her  brother,  which  we  have  seen,  and  in  which, 
alluding  to  the  death  of  her  mother,  the  following  lines 
occur  :  — 

Elle  me  dit  :  '  A  ton  amour, 
Ma  fiUe,  je  confie  un  frere  ; 
Dans  les  soins  d'une  soeur  qu'il  retrouve  sa  m^re  :' — 
Et  je  devins  ta  mere  des  ce  jour. 

We  are  glad  to  learn  that  M.  Trebutien  has  been  able  to 
collect  a  sufficient  number  of  Eugenie's  letters  to  justify 
their  appearance  in  a  separate  volume,  which  will  shortly  be 
published,  together  with  a  few  fragments  of  other  parts  of  her 
Journal  which  have  not  yet  appeared.^  But  he  has  been 
unable  to  recover  the  two  missing  cahicrs  which  she  wrote, 
and  which  probably  no  longer  exist.  M.  Trebutien  has  kindly 
favoured  us  with  a  sight  of  part  of  his  forthcoming  publication, 
and  we  will  give  a  last  extract  from  it. 

The  following  is  from  a  letter  written  to  a  sick  friend  in 
Paris,  the  date  of  which  is  May  5,  183S  : — 

I  resume  my  pen  to  the  song  of  the  nightingale  which  is  singing  beneath  my 
■window.  It  is  delightful  to  hear  it,  and  write,  as  it  were,  under  its  dictation. 
Sweet  musician  !  I  wish  it  were  in  your  room  at  Paris  ;  it  would  give  you  plea- 
sures, but  these  bards  of  solitude  do  not  I'ke  to  leave  us.  Besides  we,  hermits 
that  we  are,  require  our  concerts — God  does  not  wish  that  we  should  be  without 
pleasures.  The  fields  are  full  of  them :  flowers,  verdure,  beautiful  plants  at  every 
step,  bii-ds  everywhere— and  then  the  air — the  embalmed  air.  What  a  charm  there 
is  in  a  walk— and  to  wander  like  the  partridges  !  Yesterday  we  went  to  see  the 
invalid,  a  poor  man,  one  of  our  friends,  who  was  suddenly  seized  with  a  brain- 
stroke.  It  was  distressing  to  hear  him  delirious,  and  to  hear  his  poor  wife  and 
little  children  who  wept.  Ah  !  my  God,  it  was  heart-rending ;  but  there  is  a 
way  to  comfort  these  poor  people.  It  is  to  speak  to  them  of  God,  who  afflicts  in 
this  world  to  render  happy  in  the  next 

>  The  volume  was  published  in  1865.  It  is  entitled  Ldtrcs  d' Eugenie  de 
Ciierin,  par  G.  S.  Trebutien. 

u  2 


292  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Our  chief  object  in  making  these  selections  has  been  to 
bring  under  the  notice  of  our  readers  the  character  and  writ- 
ings of  a  person  of  whom  perhaps  not  many  of  them  have 
heard,  but  with  whom  those  who  share  her  sentiments  may- 
wish  to  become  better  acquainted.  We  have  no  doubt  that 
the  new  volume  will  be  received  with  the  same  interest  that  has 
been  shown  in  the  case  of  Eugenie's  other  writings,  and  that  it 
will  disclose  more  of  the  same  beauty  of  style,  purity  of  thought, 
and  fervour  of  religion,  which  are  her  characteristics  and  her 
charm. 


293 


THE    TUNNEL   THROUGH  THE  ALPS} 

*  Edinburgh  Review,'  1865. 

Amongst  the  '  imperial  works  and  worthy  kings '  which  this 
age,  proHfic  in  triumphs  of  engineering  skill,  has  produced, 
there  is  none  which — whether  we  regard  the  difficulty  of  the 
undertaking  or  the  importance  of  the  object — more  conspicu- 
ously challenges  attention  and  deserves  admiration  than  the 
great  tunnel  through  the  Alps,  now  steadily  advancing,  of 
which  we  propose,  in  the  following  article,  to  give  a  short 
account. 

Although  the  most  frequented  in  modern  times,  the  Mont 
Cenis  is  by  no  means  the  oldest  of  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  It 
seems  not  to  have  been  known  to  the  ancient  Romans,  nor 
to  have  been  used  as  a  highway,  or  at  all  events  not  as  a 
military  road,  until  the  Middle  Ages.  Recent  researches  have 
established  the  fact,  almost  beyond  a  doubt,  that  Hannibal 
led  his  army  into  Italy  by  the  pass  of  the  Little  St.  Bernard. 
To  reach  the  north  of  Italy  and  the  plains  of  Lombardy  from 
France,  however,  the  shortest  route  is  by  way  of  Chambery 
and  the  valley  of  the  Arc.  The  railway,  which  leaves  the 
Paris  and  Lyons  line  at  Amberieux  and  passes  by  Culoz  and 
Chambery,  has  been  pushed  forward  to  St.  Michel  in  that 
valley,  and  from  this  point  the  traveller  proceeds  in  a  dili- 
gence as  far  as  the  village  of  Lans-le-bourg — a  distance  of 
about  sixteen  miles — where  the  ascent  of  the  Mont  Cenis 
begins.  About  one-fourth  of  the  distance  between  St.  Michel 
and  Lans-le-bourg,  in  a  romantic  part  of  the  deep  valley 
through  which  the  rapid  tonent  of  the  Arc  forces  its  way — 

'    I.    Traforo  delle  Alpi  tra  Bardon-  Cenis.    Tar  M.  NOBLEMAINE.    Neuilly  : 

niche  c  Modane:  Jitlazione  della  Dire-  1 861. 

ziont    Tccnica   alia  Di redone    Gcne7-ale  3.   Xotice  Ilistorique  sur  la  Petccedu 

delle  Strade  Ferrate  dello  Stato.   Torino  :  Moiil   Cenis   et   les  A^ottTelles  J\fac/iines 

1863.  de  MM.     So/nineiller,  Grand  is  et  Grat- 

2.  Rapport  adrcsse  alaCoinpii:;niedes  toni.      Par  M.  BONJEAN.      Chambery: 

Chemins  de  Fcr  du  Nord  dc  VEspa:ine  1S63. 
sur  les  Travau^c  de  Percpucnl  dn  Mont 


294  £SSAVS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE, 

shut  in  by  lofty  snow-covered  mountains — lies  the  poor  little 
hamlet  of  Fourneaux,  and  about  a  mile  beyond  it  the  larger 
but  still  insignificant  village  of  Modane.  On  the  right  of  the 
road,  close  to  Fourneaux,  the  attention  of  the  traveller  is 
arrested  by  numerous  white  buildings  which  have  the  appear- 
ance of  barracks  ;  behind  them  a  steep  inclined  plane,  with 
two  lines  of  iron  tramway,  ascends  to  a  considerable  height, 
and  stops  at  two  square-framed  doors  placed  against  the  side 
of  the  mountain,  near  which  are  perched  a  few  cottages  and 
workshops.  On  the  same  line  wdth  the  top  of  the  incline, 
and  a  few  paces  to  the  east  or  left,  may  be  distinguished  a 
semicircular  hole,  out  of  which  the  spectator  may  perhaps,  at 
the  moment  when  he  gazes,  see  a  wagon  or  wagons  issuing 
loaded  with  broken  stones,  and  tilting  their  contents  down 
the  steep  side  of  the  mountain.  Those  buildings  are  the 
dwellings  and  workshops  of  the  men  employed  in  piercing  the 
Alps,  and  that  hole  is  the  mouth  of  the  great  tunnel  itself  on 
the  Savoy  or  northern  side. 

Hopeless  indeed  must  have  appeared  even  a  few  years 
ago    the    idea   of  carrying   a   railway  through   the    mighty 
barrier  with  which  Nature  has  girdled  Italy,  and  which,  while 
it  has  too  often  failed  as  a  defence  against  invasion,  has  had 
the  effect  of  isolating  her  in  a  great  degree  from  the  rest  of 
Europe,  and  has  impeded  her  material  prosperity.  The  genius 
of  Napoleon  did  much  when  under  his  auspices  the  Simplon 
road   was    made,    and    the    traveller   could    climb    the    lofty 
summit    of  the    Alps    comfortably   seated    in    his    carriage. 
M.  Ceard  of  Geneva,  to  whom  that  noble  work  is  due,  the 
more  remarkable  as  it  was  the  first  of  its  kind,  relates  in  his 
account  of  it  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon  frequently  sum- 
moned him  to  his  presence  to  ask  the  same  question  :  '  EJi 
bicn  !   le  canon,  quand  passcra-t-il  Ic  Simplon  ? '     This  was 
followed  by  similar  roads  across  the  St.  Gothard,  the  Splugen, 
and  the   Stelvio  ;    and  when  these  magnificent   roads   were 
completed,  it  seemed  as  if  all  had  been  done  that  engineering 
skill  could  accomplish  to  make  a  highway  into  Italy.     Nor  is 
it  likely  that  more  would  have  been  attempted  if  steam  had 
not   entirely  changed    the    nature  of  the    case.     The    delay 
occasioned  on  a  long  journey  by  the   ascent  and  descent  of 
these  mountain-passes  was  little  felt  when  the  greatest  rate  of 


THE   TUNNEL    THROUGH  THE  ALPS.  295 

speed  on  level  roads  did  not  exceed  eight  or  nine  miles 
an  hour.  But  when  rail\va}-s  began  to  spread  their  multitu- 
dinous arms  on  both  sides  of  the  Alps — when  they  crept  up 
the  valleys,  and  the  course  of  the  locomotive  was  suddenly 
arrested  by  the  frowning  masses  of  rock  which  seemed  to 
say,  *  Thus  far  shalt  thou  come  and  no  farther ' — when  the 
traveller  had  to  exchange  the  luxurious  saloon  in  which  he 
was  whirled  along  like  an  arrow  through  the  air  for  the 
uncomfortable  seat  of  a  slow  and  jolting  diligence — the 
question  irresistibly  occurred,  '  Is  it  possible  for  a  locomotive 
to  scale  that  lofty  wall  ?  or,  if  not,  is  it  impossible  to  carry 
on  the  railway  tJirough  the  Alps  ? '  The  Austrian  engineers, 
who  have  shown  the  greatest  boldness  and  skill  in  the  con- 
struction of  Apine  roads,  were  the  first  to  deal  with  this 
difficult  problem.  The  railroad  from  Vienna  to  Trieste 
crosses  the  Noric  chain  of  the  Alps  at  Semmering.  The  line 
ascends  in  gradients  varying  from  i  in  40  to  i  in  100  for 
25  miles  from  Gloggnitz  station  to  the  summit  of  the  pass, 
and  then  crosses  the  watershed  in  a  tunnel  4,000  yards  in 
length  at  an  elevation  of  2,893  English  feet  above  the  sea. 
This  colossal  work  was  accomplished  for  the  Austrian 
Government  by  the  engineer  Carlo  Chega,  between  1848  and 
1854.  Another  line  of  railway  is  also  far  advanced  across 
the  Brenner,  between  Botzen  and  Inspruck,  which  will  open  a 
\Q.XY  easy  and  direct  mode  of  communication  between  Central 
Europe  and  Northern  Italy,  But  the  Italian  Government 
was  naturally  anxious  that  these  important  Alpine  passes 
for  steam-carriages  should  not  be  exclusively  in  the  hands 
of  Austria  ;  and  they  therefore  applied  themselves  with  great 
energy  to  open  a  similar  connexion  between  the  Italian  king- 
dom and  the  French  provinces  both  of  Savoy  and  of  Nice. 

At  first  the  favourite  idea  was  that  a  practicable  railway 
could  be  so  constructed  as  to  climb  the  mountain,  and  many 
were  the  ingenious  schemes  devised  for  the  purpose.  Perhaps 
in  nothing  has  engineering  science  made  more  rapid  progress 
than  in  the  power  of  overcoming  steep  gradients.  We  well 
remember  when  the  man  would  have  been  thought  a  visionary 
who  should  have  proposed  to  make  a  locomotive  line  with  a 
gradient  of  one  in  fifty  ;  even  one  in  a  hundred  was  thought 
a  formidable  obstacle.     Now,  however,  gradients  are  faced  of 


296         £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

one  in  thirty,  or  even  one  in  twenty-seven,  of  which  an 
example  exists  in  England,  and  a  ruling  gradient  of  one  in 
fifty  is  only  considered  objectionable,  inasmuch  as  it  limits 
the  carrying  power  of  the  engine,  and  so  increases  the  ratio  of 
the  working  expenses  to  the  gross  returns.  It  is,  in  fact,  a 
mere  question  of  expense.  But  the  gradient  of  the  Alps ! 
That  was  a  gradient  which  transcended  all  experience.  Still, 
engineers  did  not  despair.  The  possibility  of  a  railway  across 
the  Simplon  was  seriously  discussed,  and  we  believe  that  the 
late  lamented  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  was  employed  by  a 
company  to  surv^ey  the  pass,  but  his  report  was  unfavourable. 
We  remember,  ten  years  ago,  meeting  in  a  small  cJiakt  near 
the  summit  of  the  mountain  a  foreign  gentleman  surrounded 
by  maps,  and  plans,  and  sections,  who  told  us  that  he  was 
bent  upon  the  same  errand.  Stationary  engines,  cog-wheels, 
pneumatic  tubes — every  kind  of  mechanical  apparatus,  were 
proposed  to  meet  the  difficulty,  but  hitherto  Avithout  result' 

A  tunnel  was  thought  of  and  talked  of,  but  it  seemed  the 
dream  of  enthusiasts.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  were  indeed 
tremendous,  and  might  well  appal  the  boldest  engineer.  In 
the  first  place,  the  length  would  be  much  greater  than  had 
ever  been  before  attempted,  and  how  was  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  air  to  be  obtained  in  the  gloomy  heart  of  the  mountain  to 
enable  the  passengers  to  avoid  suffocation  .''  How,  in  the 
progress  of  the  excavation,  were  the  workmen  to  breathe  1 
At  the  distance  of  miles  in  the  interior  what  might  not  be 

'  An  experimental  line  is  at  this  line.  They  have  also  a  lateral  move- 
moment  in  operation  on  the  Mont  ment  which  acts  as  a  powerful  break 
Cenis,  on  the  plan  invented  by  Mr.  and  enables  the  train  to  be  almost 
Fell,  an  American,  for  the  application  instantaneously  stopped,  even  when 
of  steam  traction  to  ordinary  carriage  going  at  full  speed.  It  is  calculated 
roads  across  mountains.  The  spot  that  by  means  of  this  system,  when 
selected  for  the  trial  is  on  the  zigzag  completed,  the  distance  between  St. 
road  tliat  ascends  the  mountain  on  the  Michel  and  Susa  could  be  traversed  in 
Savoy  side,  and  the  line  is  two  miles  four  hours  and  a  half.  We  saw  the 
and  a  quarter  in  length.  The  inclines  locomotive  at  work  a  few  months  ago, 
vary  from  I  m  23  to  I  in  12,  and  the  and  the  effect  at  a  distance  was  very 
smallest  radius  of  the  curves  is  one-fifth  curious.  It  seemed  with  its  train  like 
of  a  furlong.  There  are  three  sets  of  an  avalanche  descending  the  mountain, 
rails,  of  which  the  middle  one  is  placed  and  the  illusion  was  increased  by  the 
on  an  elevation,  and  it  is  used  to  secure  long  line  of  steam  which  floated  above 
the  adhesion  of  four  horizontal  wheels  the  snow  and  was  hardly  distinguishable 
attached  two  to  each  side  of  the  loco-  from  it. 

motive.     The    lower   rim  of    each   of  [The  above  was  my  original  note  in 

these   wheels   has  a  catch    that    firmly  1865.     Since  then  the  Fell  Railway  has 

clasps  the  middle  rail,  so  as  to  prevent  been  completed,  used,  and  finally  aban- 

the  engine  from  being  thrown  off  the  doned.      1874.] 


THE   TUNNEL   THROUGH  THE  ALPS.  297 

found  ?  Perhaps  some  yawning  chasm  and  dark  vmfathomable 
abyss — or,  still  worse,  some  subterranean  lake  which,  bursting 
through  the  aperture,  would  drown  the  workmen  and  sweep 
in  a  resistless  torrent  through  the  gallery.  The  materials  of 
the  rock  might  be  harder  than  granite  or  the  hardest  whin- 
stone  yet  encountered,  which  so  often  in  Scotland  has  tired 
the  patience  and  exhausted  the  purse  of  the  contractor.  To 
put  down  bores,  the  ordinary  mode  of  ascertaining  the  nature 
of  the  ground  to  be  excavated,  was  of  course  out  of  the 
question,  and  the  imagination  ran  riot  as  it  depicted  the 
character  of  the  unknown  region  of  the  interior.  The  quickest 
and  cheapest  mode  of  making  ordinary  tunnels  is  by  sinking 
vertical  shafts  at  interv^als  from  the  summit,  but  this  would 
be  plainly  impossible  in  the  Alps.  It  has  been  calculated 
that  it  would  take  forty  years  to  make  one  of  these  shafts  so 
as  to  strike  the  line  of  the  axis  of  the  Alpine  tunnel ;  and  if, 
owing  to  the  almost  insuperable  difficulty  of  sinking  a  vertical 
one,  it  were  made  oblique,  it  would  be  as  long  as  the  actual 
tunnel  itself  The  gallery,  therefore,  must  be  excavated  by 
horizontal  cutting  from  end  to  end,  although,  of  course,  the 
cutting  might  begin  at  each  extremity  at  the  same  time,  and 
go  on  simultaneously  until  the  two  sections  met  half-way  in 
the  middle  of  the  mountain.  But  here  a  fresh  difficulty 
occurred.  Suppose  that  the  lines  did  not  meet  .'*  It  is  obvious 
that,  unless  the  axis  of  each  half  of  the  tunnel  was  mathema- 
tically in  the  same  straight  line,  the  result  would  be  either 
that  the  one  line  would  cross  the  other  at  an  angel  impracti- 
cable for  a  locomotive,  or  that  they  would  be  in  parallel  lines 
and  so  miss  each  other,  causing  thus  the  expense  to  be  incurred 
of  two  tunnels  instead  of  one.  In  fact,  a  more  serious  mistake 
would  be  committed  than  that  which  is  said  to  have  happened 
in  Ireland,  where  a  line  of  railway  was  begun  at  the  two  ends 
with  different  guages,  and  it  was  not  until  each  half  of  the 
work  was  completed  that  it  was  discovered  that  the  one 
would  not  fit  into  the  other. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  all  objections  and  all  obstacles, 
the  minds  of  thinking  men  were  haunted  v*ith  the  idea  of  the 
practicability  of  a  tunnel,  and  it  was  even  made  the  subject 
of  poetry.  In  185 1  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Savoy 
offered  a  prize  for  the  best  poem  on  la  Farce  dii  Mont  Ccnis, 


298  ESSAYS    CRITICAL    AND    NARRATIVE. 

and  the  successful  competitor  was  a  lady,  Mdlle.  Chevron,  of 
Barberaz,  of  whose  verses,  however,  we  are  not  able  to  speak 
in  very  high  terms.  She  represents  the  Mont  Cenis  as  angry 
at  the  affront  it  was  about  to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  unromantic 
engineers : — 

Le  Mont  Cenis  pourtant  leve  un  front  courrouce, 
S'indignant  de  I'affront  dont  il  est  menace. 

And  the  injured  mountain  exclaims  :— 

Et  Ton  viendrait  tenter  de  me  reduire  en  poudre, 
Quand  depuis  six  mille  ans  je  resiste  a  la  foudre. 

Happily,  however,  as  we  shall  see,  Mont  Cenis  has  been  spared 
this  humiliation. 

The  first  question  was  to  determine  the  spot  which  pre- 
sented the  conditions  most  favourable  for  the  solution  of  the 
problem.    These  obviously  were  :   i,  the  least  thickness  in  the 
intervening  barrier,  or,  in  other  words,  the  shortest  passage 
through  the  mountains  ;  2,  the  most  penetrable  kind  of  rock  ; 
and  3,  the  most  convenient  points  on  each  side  for  connecting 
the  tunnel  with  the  existing  railways  in  Savoy  and  Piedmont. 
The   honour  of  first   hitting  upon  the    exact  place    on  the 
Italian  side,  which  subsequent  researches  have  confirmed  as 
that  which  is  most  suitable  for  the  line  of  the  tunnel,  is  due  to 
an  inhabitant  of  the  village  of  Bardonneche  in  the  valley  of 
Rochemolles,  which  runs  parallel  in  Piedmont  to  the  valley  of 
the  Arc  in  Savoy.     His  name  was  Joseph  Medail,  and  he  was 
a  contractor  for  public  works  in  the  neighbourhood.     In  1832 
he  drew  up  a  report  to  the  King,  Charles  Albert,  in  which  he 
indicated  the  point  afterwards  chosen  for  the  commencement 
of  the  work.     But  Medail's  idea  of  the  direction  which  the 
tunnel   ought    to  take   was   different    from  that    which  was 
finally  selected.     After  ten  years  of  laborious    investigation 
and  solitary  wanderings  amongst  the  mountains,  he,  in  1842, 
communicated    to   the  Chamber   of   Agriculture  and    Com- 
merce, at  Chambery,  a  project  for  carrying  the  tunnel  in  a 
north-westerly  direction  so  as  to  communicate  with  the  French 
railways  running  towards  Lyons.     King  Charles  Albert  now 
summoned  to  his  councils  a  Belgian  engineer  named  Maus, 
who  was  favourably  known  for  the  skill  with  which  he  had 
overcome  the  difficulty  of  carrying  a  practicable  railway  down 


THE   TUNNEL   THROUGH  THE  ALPS.  299 

the  steep  descent  that  leads  to  the  city  of  Liege.  Assisted 
by  M.  Sismonda,  the  naturaHst,  he  devoted  four  years  to  the 
study  of  the  problem,  and  at  last  determined  upon  the  line 
for  the  tunnel  which  has  ultimately  been  adopted.  Accord- 
ing to  his  plan  the  extremity  of  the  tunnel  at  Bardonneche 
would  have  been  considerably  higher  than  the  extremity  on 
the  opposite  side,  so  that  there  would  have  been  a  contin- 
uously ascending  gradient  from  the  entrance  in  Savoy  to  the 
exit  in  Piedmont.  It  is  obvious  that  by  this  arrangement,  as 
the  work  commenced  on  the  Bardonneche  side  must  have 
proceeded,  so  to  speak,  downhill,  there  would  have  been 
considerable  difficulty  in  getting  rid  of  the  water  in  what  may 
be  called  the  Italian  section  of  the  tunnel.  This  difficulty  has 
been  obviated  by  making  an  ascending  and  a  descending 
gradient.  The  tunnel  rises  from  the  Savoy  side  with  an  easy 
gradient  until  it  reaches  the  middle  of  the  mountain,  and  it 
then  falls  almost  insensibly  towards  Bardonneche.  When  we 
remember  that  in  the  fens  of  Lincolnshire  the  drainage  of 
large  districts  is  effected  by  means  of  a  fall  not  more  than  an 
inch  in  a  mile,  we  see  at  once  how  extremely  slight  the 
inclination  need  be  which  will  carry  off  the  water  from  the 
works  of  the  tunnel. 

After  the  disastrous  campaign  of  1848,  and  the  battle  of 
Novara,  which  laid  Piedmont  prostrate  at  the  foot  of  Austria, 
the  question  of  the  Alpine  tunnel  slept  for  a  time.  There 
was  neither  money  nor  spirit  for  such  an  enterprise.  A  com- 
mission was  appointed,  and  this  reported  unfavourably  on  an 
apparatus  which  had  been  invented  by  M.  Maus  for  per- 
forating the  rock.  But  when  Count  Cavour  became  the  head 
of  the  Government,  his  energetic  intellect  revived  the  scheme 
of  the  tunnel  and  gave  it  a  practical  development.  A  con- 
cession was  made  to  a  French  company  of  a  line  connecting 
the  Mont  Cenis  with  the  railways  of  France  by  the  valley  of 
the  Arc.  In  Piedmont  the  Italian  Government  undertook 
the  construction  of  a  line  along  the  valley  of  Dora  Riparia  as 
far  as  Susa  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain,  and  for  some 
time  the  idea  was  entertained  of  the  possibility  of  carrying  a 
tramway  across  the  Alps,  and  so  connecting  the  two  systems 
of  railway.  Independently,  however,  of  all  other  difficulties, 
there  was  one  which,  in  an  economic  point  of  view,  rendered 


300  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

such  a  scheme  objectionable.  To  overcome  a  given  height  a 
locomotive  must  expend  as  much  force  as  is  required  for 
travelling  a  given  length  ;  and  it  was  found,  on  calculation, 
that  to  climb  to  the  top  of  the  Mont  Cenis  was  equivalent  to 
adding  more  than  ninety-two  miles  to  the  length  of  the 
journey  which  the  train  would  have  to  perform. 

The  next  step  was  to  consolidate  the  two  lines  of  railway 
on  each  side  of  the  Alps  in  the  hands  of  the  same  company  ; 
and  the  distance  between  Culoz  in  France  and  the  extremity 
of  Lombardy,  with  the  exception  of  the  interruption  caused 
by  the  pass  of  the  Mont  Cenis,  was  traversed  by  a  railway  to 
the  whole  of  which  the  name  of  the  Victor  Emmanuel  line 
was  given.  This  stimulated  the  desire  to  drive  a  tunnel 
through  the  wall  of  rock  which  broke  the  chain  of  communi- 
cation, and  the  aid  of  the  science  of  geology  was  invoked  to 
examine  the  structure  of  the  mountain  range,  and  by  inference 
and  analogy  declare  what  was  the  secret  of  its  interior.  It 
was  found  that  the  rock  might  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
anthracite  and  oolite,  and  subdivided  into  groups,  of  which 
mica,  talc,  limestone,  and  quartz  were  the  distinguishing  ingre- 
dients. So  far  as  the  excavation  has  yet  gone,  the  result  has 
corresponded  with  the  theory,  and  on  the  Savoy  side  may  be 
seen  the  constantly  increasing  heap  of  anthracite  stone  which 
is  dug  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  mountain  and  thrown  down  its 
side  so  as  to  form  an  artificial  platform  like  the  works  of  a 
slate  quarry. 

In  the  meantime,  an  English  engineer,  named  Bartlett, 
had  patented,  in  1855,  a  machine  for  perforating  the  rock. 
The  principle  of  this  engine  was  a  combination  of  steam  and 
compressed  air,  by  which  an  iron  bar  was  darted  out  like  the 
tongue  of  an  adder  against  the^  opposing  rock  Avith  wonderful 
velocity  and  force.  It  worked  admirably  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances— that  is,  in  open  cuttings  and  short  tunnellings. 
But  it  was  useless  for  a  project  in  which  the  chief  desideratum 
was  to  keep  up  a  supply  of  fresh  air.  Steam  could  only  be 
produced  by  fire,  and  fire  is  the  great  devourtr  of  air,  so  that 
to  introduce  it  into  the  Alpine  tunnel  would  have  been  a  kind 
of  suicide.  The  glory  of  inventing  a  method  by  which  steam 
should  be  superseded,  and  compressed  air  alone  employed  as 
a   motive  power,  was    reserved    for  three   Italian    engineers 


THE   TUNNEL   THROUGH  2 HE   ALPS.  301 

acting  together  in  amicable  concert,  MM.  Sommeiller,  Grandis, 
and  Grattoni.  They  had  been  sent,  when  young  men  fresh 
from  the  Univ^ersity  of  Turin,  by  the  Sardinian  Government 
in  1846,  to  Belgium  and  England  to  study  railway  engineer- 
ing ;  and  on  their  return  to  Italy,  in  1850,  their  attention  was 
directed  almost  accidentally  to  the  question  of  compressed  air 
as  a  moving  force.  They  agreed  to  work  out  the  idea  in  com- 
mon, and  endeavour  by  joint  studies  and  experiments  to  give 
a  practical  application  of  the  principle.  We  are  not  able  to 
apportion  the  degree  of  merit  which  belongs  to  each  in  the 
course  of  this  remarkable  partnership  of  inventive  ingenuity, 
nor  is  it  necessary  that  we  should  do  so.  They  were  content 
to  throw  their  ideas  into  a  common  stock,  and  they  are  all 
equally  entitled  to  share  in  the  honour  of  the  product,  which 
is  the  machine  now  so  successfully  employed  in  piercing  a 
tunnel  through  the  Alps,  and  which  acts  simply  by  the  force 
of  air  reduced  to  one-sixth  of  its  ordinary  volume  or  bulk  by 
means  of  the  pressure  of  water. 

The  advantages  of  employing  such  a  principle,  if  it  could 
be  practically  made  to  work,  were  immense.  Air  costs 
nothing,  nor  does  water  in  a  country  where  it  abounds.  Its 
supply  was  unlimited  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  two  sides  of 
the  mountain  where  the  tunnel  was  likely  to  be  attempted  ; 
and  as  no  fuel — that  costly  element  in  the  generation  of  steam 
— would  be  required,  the  only  expense  of  any  moment  would 
be  the  machinery  by  which  the  water  could  be  brought  to  act 
upon  the  air  by  way  of  permanent  pressure,  so  as  to  reduce  it 
to  a  given  fraction  of  its  volume,  and  thereby  increase  its  force 
in  a  corresponding  ratio. 

But  it  was  not  to  the  object  of  making  a  tunnel  through 
the  Alps  that  the  labours  of  M.  Sommeiller  and  his  colleagues 
were  first  directed.  They  were  in  hopes  of  inventing  a 
machine  which,  by  means  of  the  agency  of  compressed  air, 
would  be  able  to  work  the  steep  and  dangerous  inclines  of  the 
railway  between  Turin  and  Genoa,  where  it  issues  from  the 
long  tunnel  of  Giovi  in  the  Apennines.  And  they  did  pro- 
duce a  machine,  the  principle  of  which  found  such  favour  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Sardinian  Government,  led  on  by  Count 
Cavour  in  1854,  that  the  right  was  granted  to  the  three 
engineers  of  applying  it  within  a  limited   period   to  the  pro- 


302  £SSAyS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

pelling  of  trains  up  those  inclines.  It  was,  however,  destined 
to  achieve  a  nobler  work  ;  for  the  idea  now  occurred  to  M. 
Sommeiller  and  his  friends  that  if  a  combination  could  be 
effected  between  Bartlett's  perforating  apparatus  and  the  new 
compressing  engine,  the  result  would  be  just  the  kind  of 
machine  required  for  piercing  the  Alps.  In  1856  a  bill 
was  carried  through  the  Chambers  which  authorised  the 
Government  to  undertake  the  necessary  experiments  under 
the  direction  of  MM.  Sommeiller,  Grandis,  and  Grattoni.  But 
some  idea  of  the  cost  and  difficulty  of  these  experiments 
may  be  formed  when  we  mention  that  the  whole  of  the 
machinery  had  to  be  made  in  Belgium,  at  the  foundry  of 
Messrs.  .Cockerell,  near  Liege,  and  transported  to  Piedmont. 
The  place  chosen  for  these  experiments  was  La  Coscia,  near 
San  Pier  d'Arena,  and  here  at  last  the  problem  was  practically 
solved.  The  report  of  a  Government  Commission  appointed 
to  examine  the  question  In  1857  was  favourable,  and  a  machine, 
or  rather  a  series  of  machines,  was  produced,  of  which  M. 
Sommeiller,  then  himself  a  member  of  the  Sardinian  Parlia- 
ment, could  proudly  say  from  the  tribune,  '  The  discovery  of 
the  means  of  applying  compressed  air  has  now  been  made. 
The  torrents  of  the  Alps  are  our  slaves  ;  they  will  do  our 
work  for  us.  The  machines  are  erected  and  work  regularly. 
When  once  they  are  established  at  the  Mont  Cenis,  they  will 
go  on  not  for  four  months  only,  but  for  seven,  ay,  ten  years, 
and  will  be  always  new  ;  for  machinery  which  is  only  in  con- 
tact with  water  does  not  easily  wear  out.'  The  enthusiasm 
with  which  these  w^ords  were  received  was  immense.  The 
Giovi  inclines  were  henceforth  forgotten,  and  the  whole 
power  and  resources  of  the  Government  were  concentrated 
upon  the  establishment  of  works  at  Bardonneche  and  Four- 
ncaux,  where  the  two  ends  of  the  great  tunnel  w^ere  to  be 
commenced. 

Bardonneche  is  a  poor  Alpine  village  in  the  valley  of 
Rochemolles,  about  4,255  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  with 
a  population,  in  1857,  of  a  thousand  souls,  all  simple  moun- 
taineers ;  and  here  workshops  and  dwelling-houses  had  to  be 
built  for  the  workmen  collected  to  receive  instruction  in  the 
difficult  task  before  them.  In  the  valley  of  the  Arc  they  were 
obliged  to  lodge  for  some  time  at  Modane,  distant  fully  a  mile 


THE    TUNNEL    THROUGH  THE   ALPS.  303 

from  Fourneaux  which  could  not  furnish  a  cottage  fit  to  live 
in,  and  there  was  not  a  shop  in  the  place.  Well  might  M. 
Sommeiller  say,  'The  difficulties  that  were  encountered  at  the 
beginning  of  the  enterprise  can  be  little  understood  by  those 
who  had  not  visited  Bardonneche  and  Fourneaux  before  the 
transformation  they  underwent  in  consequence  of  the  works 
of  the  tunnel.'  The  reason  why  these  two  places  were  selected 
for  the  site  of  the  two  extremities  of  the  intended  tunnel  was 
owing  to  the  configuration  of  the  mountain  range.  The  two 
valleys,  of  the  Arc  on  the  Savoy  side  and  of  Rochemolles  on 
the  Piedmont  side,  here  approach  most  closely  to  each  other, 
and  therefore  the  intervening  barrier  of  rock  has  the  least  thick- 
ness, so  that  a  hole  can  be  bored  in  the  wall,  so  to  speak,  at 
the  least  cost  and  with  the  least  difficulty.  The  name  of  the 
mountain  actually  attacked  is  the  Grand  Vallon,  although, 
perhaps,  we  ought  to  include  that  which  is  called  Frejus,  and 
they  are  both  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Mont  Thabor.  To 
speak,  therefore,  of  the  tunnel  as  the  Mont  Cenis  tunnel,  is  a 
misnomer,  for  that  mountain  is  fully  eighteen  miles  distant 
from  the  scene  of  operations  ;  and  yet  this  name  is  constantly 
given  to  it,  and  it  seems  as  if  it  were  destined  to  carry  off 
the  honour,  or,  as  Mdlle.  Chevron  styles  it,  the  affront,  of  the 
title,  just  as  Amerigo  Vespucci,  instead  of  Columbus,  carried 
off  the  honour  of  bestowing  his  name  upon  the  Western  Con- 
tinent. 

The  tunnel  at  each  extremity  was  commenced  and  exca- 
vated for  a  short  distance  in  the  ordinary  manner.  The  new 
principle  and  mechanism  were  first  applied  at  Bardonneche, 
and  the  iron  frame  and  its  perforators,  which  we  shall  ex- 
plain hereafter,  entered  the  gallery  there  on  June  12,  1861. 

As  France  had  an  interest  in  the  scheme  second  only  to 
the  interest  of  Italy,  a  convention  was  soon  afterwards  made 
with  the  French  Government  to  the  following  effect.  The 
Italian  Government  was  to  execute  the  work,  and  on  its  com- 
pletion France  was  to  pay  760,000/.  for  that  portion  of  the 
tunnel  situated  in  its  territory — one-half  of  the  entire  length 
—together  with  a  premium  of  20,000/.  for  each  year,  by  which 
a  term  of  twenty-five  years,  dating  from  January  i,  1862,  was 
reduced.  This  premium  was  to  be  increased  to  24,000/  for 
each  }'ear,   by  which  a  term   of  fifteen  years  was  reduced, 


304  ASSAYS    CRITICAL   AND    NARRATIVE. 

counting  from  the  same  time.  In  addition,  the  French  Go- 
vernment were  to  pay  interest  at  five  per  cent,  per  annum  on 
such  portion  of  the  tunnel  as  was  finished.  If,  however,  the 
ItaUan  Government  did  not  complete  the  work  within 
twenty-five  years  from  the  date  of  the  convention,  or  if  they 
renounced  its  prosecution  before  that  time,  the  French  Govern- 
ment were  absolved  from  farther  payment.  If  the  tunnel  was 
completed  in  ten  years  from  June  30,  1863,  the  French 
Government  were  to  pay  1,287,000/.  for  the  construction  of 
one-half  of  the  tunnel — being  at  the  rate  of  210/,  per  metre  or 
r09  yards. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  describe  the  plan  of  operations, 
the  means  employed,  and  the  progress  of  the  work.  It  was 
necessary  first  of  all  to  determine  the  position  of  the  axis  of 
the  tunnel,  and  this  was  done  by  marking  at  proper  intervals 
on  the  summit  certain  points  through  which  a  vertical  plane 
containing  the  imaginary  axis  would  pass.  This  was,  how- 
ever, a  task  of  no  ordinary  difficulty,  and  we  have  seldom 
perused  a  more  interesting  document  than  the  modest  report 
drawn  up  by  Signor  Copello,  who,  with  another  engineer 
named  Borelli,  executed  this  part  of  the  work.  They  and 
their  assistants  had  to  scale  the  snowy  barrier  of  the  Alps 
and  plant  flagstaff's  or  build  signal-towers — no  fewer  than  nine- 
teen in  number — above  the  line  of  the  axis  of  the  intended 
gallery.  But  how  were  they  to  determine  what  this  line 
really  would  be  between  the  valley  of  the  Arc  and  the  valley 
of  Rochemolles .'' 

The  culminating  point  of  the  intermediate  range  is  the  top 
of  the  Grand  Vallon  mountain,  nearly  11,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  almost  equidistant  from  the  two  extremi- 
ties of  the  proposed  tunnel.  Here  a  signal-tower  was  placed, 
and  from  it  the  eye  of  the  spectator  commanded  both  the 
slopes  of  the  mountain  on  the  opposite  sides.  On  the  south 
between  it  and  the  valley  of  Rochemolles  is  the  subsidiary 
range  of  Bauda,  on  which  was  placed  another  signal-tower,  in 
such  a  position  that  an  imaginary  line  drawn  from  a  point  on 
the  mountain  side  of  the  valley  of  Rochemolles  opposite  to 
the  southern  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  would  pass  through  the 
two  points  at  Bauda,  and  the  Grand  Vallon.  Owing  to  the 
great  depth  of  the  valley  of  the  Arc,  it  was  impossible  to  see 


THE    TUNNEL    THROUGH  THE   ALPS.  305 

the  signal-tower  on  the  Grand  Vallon  from  the  point  of  the 
mountain  horizontally  opposite  the  spot  where  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  tunnel  was  to  be,  and  it  was  therefore  neces- 
sary to  select  a  point  much  higher  up  the  mountain  from 
which  that  signal-tower  was  visible.  This  point  was  called 
Pietra  Bianca.  It  was  comparatively  easy  now  to  determine 
by  means  of  the  theodolite  the  vertical  plane  which,  passing 
through  the  Grand  Vallon,  and  cutting  in  two  the  valley  of 
the  Arc  and  the  valley  of  RochemoUes,  would  contain  the 
axis  of  the  tunnel,  and  its  two  mouths  would  of  course  lie  in 
that  plane  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  mountain. 

The  distance  between  the  two  points  fixed  for  the  mouths, 
or,  in  other  words,  the  length  of  the  gallery,  was  determined 
by  triangulation,  and  it  was  found  to  be  7'5932  miles.  The 
importance  of  ascertaining  this  was  with  reference  not  only  to 
the  expense,  but  also  the  gradient,  for  it  is  intended  that 
the  tunnel  shall  rise  from  the  north  to  the  middle  with  an 
incline  of  i  in  45^,  and  then  drop  insensibly  towards  the 
southern  extremity  with  an  incline  of  i  in  2,000 ;  and  unless 
the  length  was  known  beforehand,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
get  the  proper  gradient  in  driving  the  excavation  forward  into 
the  heart  of  the  mountain.  Independently  of  what  we  may 
call  the  intellectual  difficulty  in  accomplishing  this,  there  were 
physical  obstacles  of  no  ordinary  kind.  Signor  Copello  says 
in  his  report : — 

Cloud  and  snow  and  storm  succeed  each  other  in  these  lofty  regions  with  rapid 
vicissitudes,  and  frequently  render  any  operation  impossible.  To  this  must  be 
added  the  necessity  of  ascending  and  descending  from  800  to  1,000  met?rs  of 
height  over  rocks  and  by  the  most  wretched  paths.  For  this  purpose  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  mention  the  fact  that,  for  the  measurement  of  seven  particular  angles 
(which  Signor  Copello  specifies),  we  were  obliged,  for  seven  consecutive  days,  to 
reconstruct  the  steep  path  which  leads  from  the  point  called  Pelouse  to  the  chalets 
of  Rionda,  situated  about  2,000  metres  above  the  sea,  it  rarely  happening,  on 
account  of  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  that  we  were  able  to  observe  more  than 
two  angles  in  a  day,  whilst  it  frequently  occurred  that  we  were  not  able  to 
measure  one. 

On  reaching  the  village  of  Fourneaux,  the  traveller  ob- 
serves on  the  left  of  the  road  an  oblong  building,  behind 
which  rise  some  twenty  iron  cylindrical  pipes,  on  which  rests 
a  large  tank  or  reservoir  of  water.  From  beneath  the  wall  of 
this  building  issues  a  pipe  rather  less  than  a  foot  in  diameter, 
which,  divid;;d  into  lengths  of  three  or  four  yards  each,  and 

X 


3o6  ESSAYS    CRITICAL    AND   NARRATIVE. 

jointed  together  by  strong  rivets,  crosses  under  the  road,  and 
is  carried  on  the  right-hand  side  upon  a  series  of  rectangular 
pillars  of  masonry  distant  a  few  yards  from  each  other,  until 
it  reaches  the  large  workshop  at  the  foot  of  the  inclined  plane 
of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  It  then  turns  sharp  round 
to  the  right,  and  is  carried  up  the  side  of  the  incline  like  a 
monstrous  serpent,  until  it  buries  itself  in  the  side  of  the 
mountain  at  the  spot  where  the  two  square-framed  doors  are 
placed.  The  building  with  the  vertical  pipes  and  tank  con- 
tains the  apparatus  for  the  manufacture,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
compressed  air,  and  that  long  white  painted  pipe  that  crawls 
along  the  side  of  the  road  and  climbs  the  steep  face  of  the 
mountain  is  the  conduit  which  conveys  the  compressed  air 
into  the  mountain  for  the  purpose  of  performing  its  marvellous 
work  there. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  go  into  technical  details  in  de- 
scribing the  different  machines,  which  indeed  could  hardly  be 
made  completely  intelligible  without  the  aid  of  diagrams  ; 
but  we  think  we  can  give  a  sufficiently  clear  account  of  them 
to  enable  the  reader  to  understand  their  principle  and  mode 
of  operation.  And  we  will  first  speak  of  the  compressing 
machine  employed  at  Bardonneche,  where  the  work  was  first 
commenced,  and  where  the  conditions  are  different  from  those 
at  Fourneaux  as  regards  the  supply  of  water  power. 

We  have  already  said  that  the  principle  of  the  modus 
operandi  is  the  compression  of  the  atmosphere  by  means  of 
water,  so  as  to  reduce  its  volume  and  thereby  increase  its 
elastic  pressure.  If  a  body  of  air  is  reduced  to  one-sixth  of 
its  ordinary  bulk,  it  acquires  an  expansive  force  equal  to  that 
of  six  atmospheres,  and  this  has  been  found  amply  sufficient 
for  all  the  purposes  required.  The  problem  was  how  to  get  a 
constant  equable  supply  of  air  at  this  pressure,  just  as  a 
supply  of  steam  at  a  given  pressure  is  generated  by  means  of 
fire  constantly  kept  up  at  a  certain  degree  of  heat.  It  was, 
of  course,  easy  to  ascertain  what  weight  of  water  was  sufficient 
to  compress  a  given  quantity  of  air  to  one-sixth  part  of  its 
volume,  and  enable  the  opposing  forces — namely,  the  elasticity 
of  the  air  and  the  pressure  of  the  water — to  exactly  balance 
each  other  and  maintain  a  state  of  equilibrium.  But  the 
practical  difficulty  was  so  to  arrange  the  machinery  as  to  have 


THE    TUNNEL    THROUGH  THE  ALPS.         307 

always  at  command  a  reservoir  of  compressed  air,  like  steam, 
ready  for  constant  and  immediate  use.  And  here  it  was  that 
the  ingenuity  of  the  three  Italian  engineers  was  called  into 
play. 

At  Bardonneche,  at  an  elevation  above  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  there  is  a  mountain  torrent  called  Melezet,  which  is 
never  frozen  in  the  coldest  winter.  If  a  canal  were  traced  from 
this  at  a  height  of  160  feet  above  the  works,  it  would  be  able 
to  convey  a  mass  of  water  with  a  moving  force  per  second 
equal  to  900  horse-power.  But  this  is  more  than  was  required, 
and  a  reservoir  has  been  constructed  at  a  height  of  85-2  feet, 
which  gives  a  moving  force  of  208  horse-power.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  great  object  was  to  fill  a  receptacle  or 
reservoir  of  the  proper  strength  and  solidity  with  compressed 
air,  and  keep  it  there  stored  for  use.  Let  us  call  this  reservoir 
A.  The  water  confined  in  pipes  is  admitted  into  the  com- 
pressing machine,  which  is  like  a  huge  inverted  syphon,  by 
opening  a  valve  B.  The  door,  so  to  speak,  of  the  reservoir  to 
be  filled  is  a  valve  C,  which  opens  inwards,  that  is,  in  the 
direction  in  which  the  water  flows.  When  the  valve  B  is 
opened,  the  water,  obeying  the  hydrostatic  law  which  makes 
it  rise  to  the  level  of  its  origin,  rushes  forward  and  ascends  a 
vertical  cylinder  which  communicates  with  the  reservoir  A  by 
means  of  the  valve  B,  forcing  back  the  air  as  with  the  blow  of  a 
battering-ram,  until  (the  required  amount  of  pressure  having 
been  duly  calculated  and  provided  for)  it  is  compressed  to  one- 
sixth  of  its  volume,  or,  in  other  words,  acquires  an  amount  of 
pressure  equal  to  six  atmospheres.  At  this  point  the  resistance 
of  the  valve  B  (which  has  been  kept  closed  by  an  internal  pres- 
sure equal  to  five  atmospheres)  is  overcome,  and  the  air  escapes 
through  the  opening  into  the  reservoir.  The  admission  valve 
A  is  then  closed,  an  escape  valve  D  is  opened,  the  water  flows 
out  of  the  pipe,  and  the  valve  C  being  forced  back  by  the 
compressed  air  in  the  reservoir,  keeps  it  there  a  close  prisoner. 
The  position  of  the  valve  C  in  the  vertical  cylinder  has  been 
determined  by  experiment,  and  it  has  been  so  placed  as  to 
secure  that  the  advancing  column  of  water  shall  exactly  reach 
it,  and  drive  into  the  reservoir  the  whole  of  the  compressed  air. 
Sometimes  a  little  of  the  water,  in  what  we  might  almost  call 
the  eagerness  of  the  chase,  gets  into  the  reservoir,  just  as  part 

X  2 


3o8         £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

of  a  besieging  force,  when  it  drives  back  a  sortie  of  the  garrison, 
gets  within  the  gates ;  but  this  is  remedied  by  a  simple  arrange- 
ment which  enables  it  to  escape  through  a  tube. 

At  Fourneaux,  different  machinery  is  employed.  There  is 
there  a  torrent  called  Charmaix,  from  which  it  would  have 
been  easy  during  part  of  the  year  to  obtain  a  fall  of  26  inHres 
(85-2  feet),  which  would  compress  the  atmospheric  air  to  one- 
sixth  of  its  volume.  But  its  flow  is  unequal,  and  the  water 
would  be  frequently  insufficient  for  the  purpose.  The  Arc 
flows  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  and  has  always  enough 
water,  but  not  a  sufficient  fall.  By  cutting  a  canal  parallel  to 
its  course,  a  fall  of  nearly  twenty  feet  was  obtained,  but  this 
was  not  enough.  Pumps,  therefore,  are  there  employed,  moved 
by  hydraulic  wheels,  and  there  are  two  vertical  iron  columns, 
communicating  with  each  other,  in  which  water  is  allowed  to 
rise  to  a  certain  height.  An  oscillating  movement  is  given  to 
the  water  by  means  of  a  piston,  and  it  rises  and  falls  alter- 
nately on  the  two  columns.  When  it  rises,  it  compresses  the 
air  and  forces  it  through  an  outlet  valve  ;  when  it  falls,  it 
creates  a  vacuum  which  is  filled  by  air  at  atmospheric  pres- 
sure. This  is  called  the  system  a  troinba,  or  pump-system, 
while  that  at  Bardonneche  is  called  the  system  a  colonna, 
from  the  column  of  water  employed.  The  escape  of  com- 
pressed air  in  the  reservoirs  is  so  small  as  to  be  inappreciable. 
At  Bardonneche  they  were  left  charged  to  the  full  for  twenty- 
four  consecutive  days,  and  the  loss  was  less  than  soVoth  P^rt 
of  the  whole  ;  nor  was  it  possible  to  discover  any  escape  from 
the  conduit  pipe  by  carrying  a  light  along  it  for  a  distance  of 
more  than  two  thousand  yards.  And  hitherto  all  the  compli- 
cated operations  have  been  carried  on  without  any  serious 
accident.  Once,  indeed,  at  an  early  period,  the  pipe  which 
conveyed  the  water  to  grapple  with  its  antagonist  the  air, 
burst,  and  a  small  deluge  was  the  consequence ;  and  on  another 
the  same  thing  occurred  to  two  of  the  tubes  filled  with  com- 
pressed air,  which  exploded  with  the  noise  of  artillery.  But 
these  are  trifles  ;  and  there  is  perhaps  no  undertaking  of  any 
magnitude  where  the  feeling  of  security  is  more  profound  than 
that  which  is  inspired  by  a  visit  to  this  gigantic  work. 

Little  need  be  said  of  the  conduit  pipe  itself.  We  have 
already  described  how  it  is  formed  of  jointed  sections,  and  we 


THE    TUNNEL    THROUGH    THE   ALPS.         309 

need  only  add  that  each  extremity  or  nozzle  at  the  point  of 
junction  is  protected  by  an  inner  collar  of  caoutchouc,  and 
that  the  pipe  does  not  rest  immediately  upon  the  pillars  of 
masonry,  but  upon  short  red  cylindrical  tubes  exactly  like 
drainage  tiles  placed  on  the  top  of  these,  the  object  being  to 
give  play  to  the  changes  that  take  place  in  the  diameter  of 
the  pipe  as  dilatation  or  contraction  is  produced  by  heat  or 
cold  in  the  surrounding  atmosphere.  Let  us  now  follow  the 
conduit  pipe  as  it  climbs  up  the  mountain  side  and  plunges 
into  the  yawning  throat  of  the  tunnel  where  the  compressed 
air  which  it  conveys  has  to  do  its  work.  The  inclined  plane 
which  we  have  already  mentioned  is  self-acting,  and  is  used 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  up  the  materials  required,  and 
especially  the  large  stones  employed  in  casing  the  tunnel  with 
solid  masonry.  The  wagons  that  ascend  and  descend  are 
large  iron  boxes  of  a  kangaroo  shape,  the  two  front  wheels 
being  much  smaller  than  those  behind — an  arrangement 
which  enables  the  load  to  keep  an  horizontal  position  during 
its  steep  journey  up  the  side  of  the  mountain.  In  a  yard  that 
surrounds  the  workshop  at  the  foot  of  the  incline  may  be  seen 
two  large  blocks  of  stone  riddled  through  and  honeycombed 
with  holes.  These  are  pieces  of  rock  on  which  experiments 
with  the  perforating  machines  were  made,  and  they  look 
exactly  as  if  they  had  been  bored  like  wood  with  large  gim- 
lets. 

On  a  platform  beside  the  entrance  formed  by  scarping  the 
rock  there  are  w'orkshops  and  a  forge  like  that  of  a  blacksmith, 
where  the  business  of  preparing  and  sharpening  the  perforating 
rods  or  '  needles  '  is  carried  on.  We  saw  large  bundles  of 
these  lying  on  the  ground,  and  they  looked  exactly  like  alpen- 
stocks— shorter,  indeed,  than  those  well-known  walking-poles, 
but  hardly  thicker,  with  the  exception  of  such  as  are  employed 
in  drilling  the  central  holes,  as  will  be  explained  hereafter. 
They  arc  made  of  tempered  steel,  and  the  points,  or  rather 
extremities,  are  about  two  inches  in  width,  with  a  twist  like 
that  of  an  adze.  Swarthy  men  were  actively  employed  in 
putting  the  ends  of  their  needles  into  the  fire  and  hammering 
them  when  red-hot  upon  the  anvil,  for  the  extremely  hard 
nature  of  the  rock  they  have  to  attack  makes  it  necessary  to 
sharpen  them  continually. 


3IO  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

The  arch  of  the  tunnel  is  nearly  a  semicircle.  It  is  25  feet 
3^  inches  wide  at  the  base,  26  feet  2|  inches  wide  at  the 
broadest  part,  and  24  feet  7  inches  high/  At  Bardonneche, 
however,  the  height  has  been  increased  iif  inches.  So  much 
of  the  northern  end  as  is  finished  is  cased  throughout  with 
stone,  but  at  the  southern  end  the  sides  only  are  of  stone  and 
the  vaulting  is  brick.  Two  lines  of  rails  are  laid  down,  and 
lead  to  the  advance  gallery  where  the  excavation  is  going  on 
in  the  manner  we  will  now  describe. 

An  iron  frame  containing  the  perforating  needles  moves 
along  the  rails  and  confronts  the  rock  which  is  to  be  attacked 
in  the  gallery,  which  is  not  so  large  as  the  actual  tunnel  when 
finished,  for  it  is  found  more  convenient  to  enlarge  by  ordinary 
tools  the  space  after  the  holes  have  been  bored  and  the 
blasting  with  gunpowder  has  taken  place.  So  that,  in  fact, 
as  the  excavation  advances,  the  tunnel  may  be  compared  to 
a  reversed  telescope,  of  which  the  narrow  end  is  the  gallery 
in  which  the  perforating  machines  operate.  The  advanced 
galleries  in  the  two  sections  of  the  tunnel  are,  however, 
worked  at  different  levels.  That  on  the  Bardonneche  side  is 
on  a  level  with  the  floor,  while  that  on  the  Modane  side  is 
at  the  top,  close  to  the  roof.  We  are  not  aware  of  the  reason 
of  this  difference,  but  it  may  be  that,  as  the  Bardonneche  end 
was  begun  first,  it  has  been  there  so  continued,  while  subse- 
quent experience  may  have  shown  that,  on  the  Modane  side 
at  all  events,  it  was  more  convenient  to  adopt  the  higher  level. 
The  entrance  to  each  gallery  is  closed  by  two  large  moveable 
gates  or  doors  which  turn  on  pivots,  and  behind  which  the 
workmen  take  refuge  from  the  shower  of  stones  that  follows 
the  explosion  of  the  mines.  The  iron  frame  called  rajfusto  is 
armed  with  nine  or  ten  perforating  machines,  like  the  bow  of 
an  ancient  trireme  from  which  the  rostra  projected,  and  they 
arc  arranged  in  a  circular  form,  but  so  that  the  greatest  yumber 
of  holes  can  be  bored  in  the  centre  of  the  opposing  mass  of 
rock.  To  each  of  these  are  attached  flexible  tubes,  the  one 
containing  the  compressed  air  which  impels  forward  the 
striking  rods  or  needles,  and  the  other  water,  which  is  injected 
into  the  holes  as  they  arc  bored.  The  machines  consist  of  two 
parts  ;  the  one  a  cylinder  for  propelling,  by  means  of  a  piston, 
the  boring  needle  against  the  rock,  and  the  other  a  rotary 


THE   TUNNEL   THROUGH   THE  ALPS.  311 

engine   for  Avoiking  the  valve  of  the  striking  cylinder  and 
turning  the  needle  on  its  axis  at  each  successive  stroke.     It  is 
impossible  to  describe  these  machines  in  detail  without  re- 
ference to  a  diagram,    for,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  their 
mechanism  is  exceedingly  complex.     And  owing  to  the  severe 
work  they  have  to  perform,  they  are  constantly  getting  out  of 
order,  and  require  repair.     M.  Sommeiller  says  in  his  report 
that  '  there  is  not  in  any  manufactory  a  self-acting  machine 
composed   of  such    multiplied    and   delicate  organs  with  so 
many  continuous  and  intermittent  movements,  placed  in  con- 
ditions so  difficult,  and  which  is  subject  to  so  many  causes  of 
destruction  as  these  perforators.*     It  is  calculated  that  before 
the  tunnel  is  finished  two  thousand  of  them  will  have  been 
used  up.     The  great  object  was  to  make  them  light  and  por- 
table, and  this,  of  course,  increased  their  fragility.     To  bore 
eight  holes  of  the  requisite  depth,  the  piston  rod  gives  57,600 
blows,  and  the  cylinder  performs  the  same  number  of  revo- 
lutions !     The  action  of  each  machine  is  independent  of  the 
others,  so  that  if  one  of  them  is  broken  or  gets  out  of  order, 
the  action  of  the  rest  is  not  delayed  ;    and   it  often  happens 
that  where  the  face  of  the  rock  opposite  to  some  of  them  is 
softer  than  that  which  is  opposite  the  others,  or  they  are  in  a 
better  condition  for  working,  they  will  drill  double  the  number 
of  holes  in  the  same  time.     The  rock  on  the  south  or  Italian 
side,  '  so  far  as  the  perforator  is  interested,'  says  M.  Sommeiller, 
'  is  very  refractory  {molto  ribdlc).'     The  stratification  there  is 
extremely  irregular,  and  the  surface  of  the  front  of  the  ad- 
vanced gallery  at  the  point  of  attack  is  all  streaked  with  veins 
of  quartz   in  every  possible  direction,  which  frequently  turn 
aside  the  boring  needle  and  disable  them.    On  the  north  side, 
the  rock  is  even  still  harder,  but  it  is  more  homogeneous  and 
is  more  easily  worked.    The  perforators  act  at  different  angles, 
so  as  to  pierce  the  rock  in  all  directions,  and  when  the  proper 
number  of  holes  have  been  bored,  the  iron  frame  is  pushed 
back,  and  the  large  centre  holes  are  charged  with  gunpowder, 
and  the  mine  is  fired.     This  makes  a  large  cavity  in  the  rock, 
which  is  called  the  breach,  and  the  smaller  surrounding  holes 
are  then  charged  and  fired  in  a  similar  manner.     At  the  same 
time  a  strong  jet  of  ccmpressed  air  is  thrown  into  the  advanced 
gallery,  which  scatters  the  smoke  and  supplies  air  for  respi- 


312         £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

ration.  Wagons  are  next  pushed  forward  and  filled  with  the 
fragments  of  rock  and  broken  stone,  which  are  conveyed  to 
the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  and  tilted  down  the  side  of  the 
mountain. 

After  each  attack  a  fresh  relay  of  workmen  is  brought  in, 
and  the  same  operation  is  repeated  night  and  day.  We  were 
told  on  the  spot  that  the  only  holiday  in  the  year  is  Easter 
Sunday.  And  so  the  siege  of  the  rock  goes  on  continually,  at 
a  varying  rate  of  progress,  which  on  the  northern  side  at  the 
present  time  is  a  daily  advance  of  about  two  inttrcs  or  2-i8 
yards.  After  the  gallery  has  been  cleared  of  the  debris,  it  is 
enlarged  to  the  proper  size  of  the  tunnel  by  workmen  using 
their  ordinary  tools,  and  then  the  sides  and  roof  are  cased  with 
masonry,  and  the  tunnel  is  up  to  that  point  complete. 

One  of  the  objections  urged  against  the  use  of  compressed 
air  as  a  motive  force  was,  that,  as  the  elasticity  of  a  given 
volume  varies  inversely  as  the  space  it  occupies,  if  it  were  con- 
veyed a  long  distance  it  would  lose  so  much  of  its  tension  or 
elasticity  as  to  be  unavailable  for  any  practical  purpose.  But 
here,  as  so  often  has  been  the  case,  theory  was  confuted  by 
fact.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  same  kind  of  objection 
was  urged  against  the  project  of  submarine  telegraphs,  and  it 
was  said  that  the  electric  current  would  lose  its  force  and  die 
along  the  road.  It  has  been  found  that  the  loss  of  pressure 
at  the  ends  of  the  conduit  pipe  where  the  air  is  applied,  as 
compared  with  the  pressure  in  the  reservoir,  is  only  one-sixtieth 
of  the  whole  ;  and  M.  Sommeiller  calculates  that  at  the  centre 
of  the  tunnel,  a  distance  of  37966  miles  from  the  reservoir,  he 
will  be  able  easily  to  apply  a  pressure  or  force  of  six  atmo- 
spheres. Again,  another  objection.  By  compression  caloric 
is  disengaged,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  air  discharged  in 
the  gallery  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation  w^ould  be  too  hot  to 
breathe.  But  as  the  air  when  it  is  emitted  from  the  pipe 
immediately  expands,  it  absorbs  the  same  quantity  of  caloric 
which  it  had  discharged  at  the  moment  of  emission,  so  that  the 
one  effect  neutralises  the  other ;  and  M.  Sommeiller  refers 
with  pardonable  pride  to  the  visits  of  ladies,  '  delicatissime 
signorcl  and  amongst  others  the  Princess  Mary  of  Savoy,  who 
stood  at  the  extremity  of  the  gallery  while  the  perforators 
were  at  work,   and  did   not  suffer  the  slightest  inconvenience 


THE   TUNNEL    THROUGH   THE  ALPS.  313 

from  the  state  of  the  air.  The  whole  of  the  works  are  hghtcd 
with  gas  conducted  in  iron  pipes  along  the  ground,  and  in  the 
advanced  gallery  thirty  or  forty  lights  are  kept  constantly 
burning,  some  of  gas  and  some  of  oil  :  so  that  which  was  pro- 
phesied as  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  of  the  undertaking, 
an  abundant  supply  of  fresh  air,  is  shown  to  be  the  easiest 
part  of  it. 

In  the  middle  of  the  tunnel  line  beneath  the  rails  there  is 
made  contemporaneously  with  the  excavation  a  covered  way  like 
a  drain  or  sewer,  in  which  are  laid  the  pipes  for  gas  and  water, 
and  it  sei^ves  also  as  a  passage  by  which  the  workmen  employed 
at  the  advanced  gallery  could  effect  their  escape  in  case  of  a 
fall  of  rock  from  the  roof,  or  any  other  accident  which  might 
block  up  the  tunnel  itself  And  by  it  the  drainage  is  effected 
of  the  water  that  filters  from  the  rock,  which  must  be  consi- 
able,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  quantity  of  large  stalactites 
which  may  be  seen  hanging  from  the  roof 

One  of  the  m.ost  important  points  to  attend  to  is  the 
accurate  direction  of  the  axis  of  the  gallery,  which  is  indis- 
pensable to  prevent  the  two  simultaneous  excavations  not 
meeting  at  last  in  the  centre.  This  is  accomplished  by  means 
of  an  observatory  at  each  end  perched  aloft  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  valley,  not  unlike  a  summer-house,  to  which  a 
steep  zigzag  path  ascends,  and  from  which  the  spectator  looks 
into  the  cavity  of  the  tunnel,  where  lights  are  always  kept 
burning  to  guide  the  eye  in  the  right  direction.  It  is  easy  by 
proper  instruments  to  determine  whether  or  not  any  deflection 
from  a  straight  line  has  occurred,  and  the  tests  are  applied 
about  once  in  every  three  months ;  but  hitherto  no  error  has 
been  detected. 

We  have  frequently  spoken  of  the  two  mouths  of  the 
tunnel,  such  as  they  appear  on  the  mountain  sides  at  Fourneaux 
and  Bardonneche.  But  it  is  not  intended,  as  might  at  first  be 
supposed,  that  the  railway  from  the  two  valleys  shall  enter 
either  of  these  mouths.  Indeed,  a  moment's  reflection  will 
show  that  this  is  impossible.  For  the  direction  of  the  railway 
as  it  approaches  the  tunnel  will  be  at  right  angles  with  its 
axis,  and  it  would  therefore  require  a  large  space  by  the  side 
and  in  front  of  the  mouth  to  give  room  for  a  curve  sufficiently 
flat  for  safety.     Two    subsidiary  tunnels   will  be   formed   at 


314  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

each  extremity,  which  will  enter  the  great  tunnel  on  a  curve 
at  some  little  distance  from  the  actual  mouth.  The  valley  of 
the  Arc  widens  considerably  above  Modane,  and  the  railway 
will  describe  a  majestic  sweep  as  it  curves  with  an  ascending 
gradient  towards  the  mountain  which  is  to  engulf  it.  It  is 
obvious  that  much  expense  of  construction  might  be  saved  if, 
instead  of  making  this  grand  curve  across  the  valley,  the  line 
were  to  shunt  ;  by  which  means  the  train  would  be  brought 
to  a  stand-still  at  a  point  beyond  Modane,  and  the  locomo- 
tive with  its  train  would  take  a  fresh  start  in  a  line  diagonally 
crossing  the  valley.  But  a  shunt  is  always  awkward  and 
involves  delay,  and  we  have  not  heard  that  it  was  ever 
seriously  contemplated. 

The  length  of  the  tunnel  already  finished  is  a  little  more 
than  two  miles  and  a  half.     This  leaves  about  five  miles  and 
eight  chains  yet  to  be  excavated,  and  at  the  rate  of  progress 
which  the  work  is  now  making,  it  ought,  unless  some  unex- 
pected   accident  occur,   to  be  completed  in  four  years  and 
seven  months  from  the  present  time.     It  would  be  too  much 
to  predict  with  certainty  that  this  expectation  will  be  realised. 
It   may  be,   indeed,  that  unknown  difficulties  will  mar   the 
enterprise,  for  it  cannot  be  denied  that  these  will  increase  in 
a  certain  ratio  as  the  w^ork  advances.     But  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that,  as  each  section  of  the  tunnel  embraces  only 
half  of  the  entire  length,  the    question  is  not  whether  the 
mechanical  apparatus  is  fitted  to  deal  with  seven  miles  and  a 
half  of  the  interior  of  the  mountain,  but  with  just  half  of  that 
distance.     Now,  subtracting  2,000  mkres  (which  is  something 
less  than   the  advance  made  at  each  extremity)  from  6,110 
mHres,  which  is  half  of  the  entire  length,  there  are  left  only 
4,110  metres,  or  2  miles  983  yards,  to  test  the  powers  of  the 
compressed  air  and  the  perforating  machines.     This  does  not 
seem    a   very    formidable    distance,    and,   judging   from    the 
experience  of  the  past,  we  think  that  M.  Sommeiller  and  his 
colleagues  are  well  justified  in  looking  forward  hopefully  to 
the  result.     At  all  events  absit  ovieii  ; — we  will  not  dwell  on 
the  possibilities  of  failure.     Let  us  rather  fancy  the  moment 
arrived  when  each   section  of  the  tunnel  has  been  pushed 
forward  so  far  that  the  blows  of  the  perforating  rods  on  the 
opposite   sides  of  the    last   interval    of  rock    can   be   heard 


THE   TUNNEL    THROUGH   THE  ALPS.         315 

together,  as  if  each  were  the  echo  of  the  other ;  one  of  them 
darts  forward  into  the  empty  space  formed  by  the  excava- 
tion of  the  meeting  gallery— -the  holes  are  filled  with  powder 
— the  mine  is  fired— and  when  the  explosion  has  taken 
place,  and  the  smoke  has  cleared  away,  there  is  no  longer  a 
barrier  to  overcome,  but  the  passage  from  France  to  Italy  is 
open  without  obstruction  from  end  to  end  !  Then  will  have 
been  accomplished  an  enterprise  which,  to  use  the  words  of 
M.  Menabrea,  when  addressing  the  Italian  Chamber  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1863,  'will  be  for  the  glory  of  Italy  and  the 
greatest  benefit  to  all  her  population.'  And  not  Italy  alone. 
The  whole  of  Europe  has  an  interest  in  the  success  of  the 
tunnel  through  which  will  flow  the  stream  of  traffic  from 
Germany  and  France.  A  few  years  ago  the  pass  of  the 
Mont  Cenis  glittered  with  the  bayonets  and  resounded  with 
the  tramp  of  a  French  army  marching  on  its  way  to  rescue 
fair  Italy  from  the  grasp  of  the  foreigner.  Now  a  more 
peaceful  conquest  is  going  on  over  the  obstacles  which 
Nature  has  imposed,  and  the  Alps  themselves  are  yielding 
to  the  potent  spell  which  science  and  art  together  are  able 
to  evoke.  It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  importance 
of  the  result  ;  and  if  it  is  achieved,  the  Alpine  tunnel  will 
be  one  of  the  blessings  of  humanity,  and  exist  for  ages 
an  imperishable  monument  of  patient  industry  and  engineer- 
insf  skill. 


3i6         £SSAVS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY. 

'Good  Words,'  May,  1S69. 

A  TERRITORY  half  as  large  as  Europe  stretches  to  the  north 
and  west  of  Canada,  from  the  coast  of  Labrador,  on  the  east, 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the  south-west,  and  touching  the 
Arctic  circle  on  the  north,  reaches  as  far  as  the  boundary  line 
in  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  between  British 
North  America  and  the  United  States  on  the  south.  It 
embraces  within  its  sweep  Hudson's  Strait,  Hudson's  Bay, 
and  James's  Bay — an  expanse  of  waters  equal  to  the  area  of 
the  Mediterranean.  From  the  south-west  extremity,  an  irre- 
gular line,  trending  towards  the  north-east,  divides  it  from 
that  part  of  the  British  dominions  which  is  generally  known 
as  the  Indian  territory.  This  contains  the  Great  Bear  Lake, 
the  Great  Slave  Lake,  and  Athabasca  Lake  ;  the  Coppermine, 
the  Mackenzie,  and  the  Great  Fish  rivers  ;  and  through  it,  on 
the  western  side,  runs  the  mighty  range  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, which  extend  from  the  Arctic  Sea  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  divide  the  Indian  territory  from  British  Columbia. 
A  ridge  of  table-land  running  south-west  from  the  coast  of 
Labrador  to  the  source  of  the  Ottawa  River,  and  forming 
the  watershed  of  the  rivers  which  on  the  one  side  fall  into 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  on  the  other  into  the  Hudson's  Bay, 
may  be  considered  as  the  south-eastern  limit  of  the  territory, 
although  neither  on  the  west  nor  on  the  south-east  has  its 
boundary  been  ever  accurately  traced  or  defined.  The  whole 
of  this  vast  region — by  a  very  indefinite  description,  but  under 
the  name  of  Rupert's  Land — was  granted,  by  Royal  Charter 
in  1670,  by  Charles  II.,  to  '  the  Governor  and  Company  of 
Adventurers  of  England  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,'  familiarly 
called  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  of  whose  history  and  policy 
I  purpose  to  give  some  account  in  the  following  pages.    But  I 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.    317 

will  first  endeavour  to  describe  the  natural  features  of  the 
country  itself,  of  which  little  more  is  generally  known  in 
England  than  that  it  produces  the  furs  which  are  so  largely 
used  as  articles  of  clothing,  luxury,  and  ornament. 

It  is  only  on  the  southern  part  of  the  territory  that  cultiva- 
tion is  possible.  This  is  owing  to  the  rigour  of  the  climate 
and  the  nature  of  the  soil.  The  country  to  the  north  of  the 
Saskatchewan  River,  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  Lake  Superior, 
has  been  described  as  a  region  of  rivers,  swamps,  treeless 
prairies,  and  barren  hills  and  hollows,  '  tossed  together  in  a 
wave-like  form,  as  if  the  ocean  had  been  suddenly  petrified 
while  heaving  its  huge  billows  in  a  tumultuous  swell.'  In  the 
winter  season  almost  the  only  means  of  subsistence  in  this 
dreary  region  is  frozen  fish.  By  far  the  greatest  portion  seems 
destined  for  ever  to  remain  a  sterile  wilderness,  tenanted  by 
animals  whose  thick  furs  enable  them  to  resist  the  cold,  and 
roamed  over  by  hunters,  who,  with  guns  and  traps  in  their 
hands,  pursue  the  bear,  the  beaver,  the  wolf,  the  fox,  the 
martin,  and  the  mink,  and 

Kill  them  up 
In  their  assigned  and  native  dwelling-place. 

Hudson's  Bay — which  was  discovered  by  John  Hudson,  in 
16 10 — may  be  considered  as  the  great  basin  into  which  the 
rivers  of  Rupert's  Land  flow.  The  largest  of  the  inland  waters 
is  Lake  Winnipeg,  on  the  south.  It  is  300  miles  long,  and  in 
some  parts  50  miles  broad,  distant  about  50  miles  from  the 
boundary  line  that  divides  Rupert's  Land  from  the  United 
States,  and  500  miles  from  Lake  Superior.  The  next  two 
largest  lakes  are  Lake  Manitobah  (the  '  Evil  Spirit '  lake)  and 
Lake  Winnipegosis,  to  the  west  of  Lake  Superior,  and  toge- 
ther nearly  of  the  same  length.  The  Red  River,  which  rises 
in  the  Otter-tail  lake,  in  Minnesota,  flows  northwards  into 
Lake  Winnipeg ;  and  to  the  north-east  of  it  is  the  Winnipeg 
River,  another  affluent  of  the  lake,  which  connects  it  with  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  and  this  again  is  connected  by  Rainy 
River,  with  Rainy  Lake,  through  which  runs  the  boundary 
line  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  latitude.  The  country  lying 
between  Lake  Winnipeg  and  the  Red  River  on  the  east — the 
south  branch  of  the  Saskatchewan  on  the  west — the  main 


3i8        ASSAYS    CRITICAL   AND    NARRATIVE. 

stream  of  that  river  on  the  north — and  the  boundary  Hne  on 
the  south — forms  an  irregular  parallelogram,  which  is  computed 
to  contain  80,000  square  miles — an  area  equal  to  that  of 
Great  Britain.  And  within  this  area  there  are  upwards  of 
11,000,000  acres  of  arable  land,  and  an  equal  quantity  fit  for 
pasture. 

It  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  River  that  the  Red  River  or 
Selkirk  Settlement,  of  which  I  shall  speak  hereafter,  was 
formed.  The  soil  is  alluvial,  and  produces  crops  of  wheat, 
but  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  most  of  the  forests  that 
formerly  existed  have  been  destroyed  by  fire,  but  there  is 
still  a  large  quantity  of  wood,  especially  on  the  east  side.  The 
timber,  however,  is  nowhere  of  great  size.  It  has  been  said, 
indeed,  that  there  is  not  a  tree  of  any  description  five  feet  in 
diameter  in  the  Company's  territory  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  the  largest  pines  there  seldom  exceed  three  feet  in 
diameter.  But  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  one  of  the  witnesses 
who  was  examined  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  in  1857,  declared  that  in  the  vast  area  between  the 
north  branch  of  the  Saskatchewan  River  and  the  Athabasca 
Lake,  in  the  north,  there  are  trees,  '  vast  and  splendid  in  their 
growth,'  which  would  bear  comparison  with  '  the  magnificent 
trees  round  Kensington  Park.'  There  are,  however,  very  few 
trees  if  any  in  the  plains,  and  the  buffalo  hunters  are  obliged 
to  carry  wood  with  them  for  lighting  fires.  Between  the  Red 
River  and  Rainy  Lake,  to  the  east,  there  is  an  impracticable 
country  full  of  deep  morasses,  of  w^iich  it  has  been  asserted 
that  they  never  thaw,  for  below  the  moist  surface  there  is  a 
stratum  of  everlasting  ground  ice.  But  this,  I  think,  must  be 
a  mistake,  for  the  so-called  permanent  '  frozen  district '  begins 
at  a  higher  latitude.  Along  the  banks  of  the  Red  River  for 
about  the  width  of  a  mile  there  is  a  belt  of  land  which  has 
more  or  less  been  brought  into  cultivation,  but  beyond  this 
the  soil  is  extremely  thin,  and  some  idea  of  the  nature  of  the 
country  may  be  formed  from  the  evidence  of  Sir  George 
Simpson,  who  was  for  many  years  Governor  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  and  who  stated  before  the  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons  that  he  had  paddled  over  some  of  the 
roofs  of  the  houses  there  in  his  canoe.  These  were  certainly 
'  lacustrine '  habitations  of  a  modern  period. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.  319 

Owing  to  the  difficulties  of  the  country  the  territory  has 
not  yet  been  fully  explored,  and  actual  knowledge  of  its 
features  has  been  chiefly  confined  to  the  region  that  lies  to 
the  west  of  Red  River  and  south  of  the  northern  fork  of  the 
Saskatchewan  River ;  the  two  forks  meeting  at  a  place  called 
Ncpowcwin  or  Fort  a  la  Come,  and  thence  flowing  in  a  united 
stream  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  which  they  enter  near  its  head  on 
the  north-west  side.  An  expedition  to  explore  the  country 
watered  by  the  Assiniboine  and  the  Saskatchewan  was  sent 
out  by  the  Canadian  Government  in  1857,  and  its  very  inte- 
resting reports  are  to  be  found  in  a  Blue  Book  published  by 
order  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  i860. 

The  Assiniboine  River  flowing  from  the  north,  turns  to  the 
east  five  miles  above  Fort  Ellice,  about  360  miles  from  Fort 
Garry.  Fort  Pelly  lies  upon  it  to  the  north.  For  the  first 
fifteen  miles  of  its  course  the  land  of  the  valley  is  light  and 
sandy  clay,  in  many  places  pure  sand  covered  with  a  low 
growing  creeper.  The  grass  is  very  short  and  scanty,  and 
the  aspens,  which  are  the  only  trees,  are  small.  Farther  on 
the  country  improves  for  about  sixty  miles,  but  it  abounds 
with  marshes,  swamps,  and  ponds,  round  which  grow  ^\'illow 
and  aspen  trees.  From  thence  to  Fort  Pelly  the  country  is 
densely  covered  with  aspens  and  willows,  but  there  are  open 
spaces  here  and  there,  where,  says  Mr.  Dickinson,  one  of  the 
officers  employed  on  the  Canadian  expedition,  '  the  wonderful 
luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  is  beyond  description.  Lakes 
and  ponds  are  very  numerous  throughout,  encircled  with  large 
aspens  and  balsam  poplars.'  To  the  east  of  Fort  Pelly  lies 
the  Swan  River,  which  flows  in  a  north-easterly  course  into 
Lake  Winnipegosis.  The  valley  through  ^^'hich  it  runs  is 
described  as  containing  all  the  requirements  necessary  for  a 
settlement,  and  the  timber  is  plentiful  and  of  a  good  size. 
The  land  for  the  most  part  is  sandy  loam,  and  is  traversed  by 
numerous  creeks. 

The  Qu'Appelle,  or  Calling  River,  flows  from  the  west, 
and  joins  the  Assiniboine  five  miles  above  Fort  Ellice.  It 
rises  near  the  south  branch  of  the  Saskatchewan,  at  a  place 
called  the  Elbow ;  and  in  the  long,  deep,  and  narrow  valley 
through  which  it  runs  towards  the  east,  there  are  eight  lakes, 
of  an  aggregate  length  of  seventy  miles.     A  scheme  has  been 


320          £SSyl  KS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

proposed  to  send  the  waters  of  the  south  branch  of  the  Saskat- 
chewan down  the  valley  into  the  Assiniboine,  and  thence  into 
the  Red  River,  and  past  Fort  Garry  into  Lake  Winnipeg. 
This  would  be  effected  by  constructing  a  dam  across  the  deep 
and  narrow  ravine  through  which  the  south  branch  flows,  just 
below  the  point  where  the  Qu'Appelle  valley  joins  it.  The 
waters  of  the  Saskatchewan  would  thus  be  turned  into  the 
valley,  and  enable  steamers  to  navigate  them  for  a  distance 
exceeding  600  miles  between  the  Elbow  and  Fort  Garry.  And 
the  Indians  who  hunt  in  that  district  assured  Professor  Hind, 
who  had  charge  of  the  Canadian  exploring  expedition,  that 
between  the  Elbow  and  the  western  extremity  of  the  south 
branch,  near  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  the  Bow 
River  flows  into  it,  there  are  no  rapids  or  impediments  of  any 
description,  except  shifting  mud  and  sand  bars.  I  can  give  no 
opinion  as  to  the  feasibility  of  this  plan,  the  object  of  which  is 
of  course  to  facilitate  the  formation  of  a  highway  between 
Canada  and  the  Pacific ;  but  it  is  right  to  state  that  Mr.  Dawson, 
in  his  report  dated  Toronto,  Feb  22,  1859,  mentions  one 
objection  to  it,  which,  if  well  founded,  is  conclusive.  He  says, 
*  The  plains  of  Red  River  would  be  converted  into  a  sea,  and 
the  settlement  swept  into  Lake  Winnipeg.'  Professor  Hind 
combats  this  idea  as  chimerical ;  but  I  am  unable  to  decide 
which  of  the  two  disputants  is  right.  The  possibility  of  such  a 
catastrophe  is  perhaps  sufficient  to  prevent  the  scheme  from 
being  attempted. 

The  immediate  banks  of  the  Saskatchewan  are  of  a  poor, 
sandy,  and  gravelly  soil  ;  but  on  the  prairie  plateau,  three 
miles  from  the  river,  the  rich  soil  commences,  and  in  some 
places  extends  for  a  breadth  of  sixty  miles.  The  Touchwood 
range  of  hills  lies  to  the  east  of  the  Elbow  and  north  of  the 
Qu'Appelle  River,  and  embraces  an  area  of  more  than  a 
million  acres.  '  For  beauty  of  scenery,'  says  Professor  Plind, 
'  richness  of  soil,  and  adaptation  for  settlement,  this  is  by  far 
the  most  attractive  area  west  of  the  Assiniboine.' 

Fort  Garry,  the  head-quarters  of  the  settlement,  lies  a  short 
distance  to  the  south  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  at  the  point  where 
the  Assiniboine  falls  into  the  Red  River.  The  Assiniboine 
valley  on  the  north  side,  and  south  of  a  range  of  hills  called 
the  Big  Ridge,  comprises  an  area  exceeding  half  a  million  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.  X2\ 


j- 


acrcs,  with  a  soil  which  has  been  described  as  of  '  remarkable 
excellence.'  The  south  side  of  the  Assiniboinc  is  covered  by 
a  vast  forest,  varying  in  ^idth  from  three  to  twenty-five  miles, 
and  below  this  there  are  wide  open  prairies,  where  herds  of 
buffaloes  range. 

The  grasshoppers  are  the  pest  of  the  region.  Professor 
Hind  says,  'At  times  they  would  cast  a  shadow  over  the 
prairie ;  and  for  several  hours  one  day  the  sky,  from  the 
horizon  to  an  altitude  of  thirty  degrees,  acquired  an  inde- 
scribably brilliant  ash-white  tint,  and  seemed  faintly  luminous 
as  the  semi-transparent  wings  of  countless  millions  of  grass- 
hoppers, towards  the  north  and  north-east,  reflected  the  light 
of  the  sun.'  Another  traveller  says,  '  Lying  on  my  back  and 
looking  upwards  as  near  to  the  sun  as  the  light  would  permit, 
I  saw  the  sky  continually  changing  colour  from  blue  to  silver 
white,  ash-grey,  and  lead  colour,  according  to  the  numbers  in 
the  passing  clouds  of  insects.  Opposite  to  the  sun,  the  pre- 
vailing hue  was  a  silver  white,  perceptibly  flashing.  On  one 
occasion  the  whole  heavens,  towards  the  south,  east,  and  west, 
appeared  to  radiate  a  soft,  grey,  tinted  light,  with  a  quivering 
motion  ;  and  the  day  being  calm,  the  hum  produced  by  the 
vibrations  of  so  many  millions  of  wings  was  quite  indescrib- 
able, and  more  resembled  the  noise  popularly  termed  "a 
ringing  in  one's  ears,"  than  any  other  sound.  The  aspect  of 
the  heavens  during  the  greatest  flight  we  observed  was  singu- 
larly striking.  It  produced  a  feeling  of  uneasiness,  amaze- 
ment, and  awe  in  our  minds,  as  if  some  terrible  unforeseen 
calamity  were  about  to  happen.  It  recalled  more  vividly 
than  words  could  express  the  devastating  ravages  of  the 
Egyptian  scourges,  as  it  seemed  to  bring  us  face  to  face  with 
one  of  the  most  striking  and  wonderful  exhibitions  of  Almighty 
power  in  the  creation  and  sustenance  of  this  infinite  army  of 
insects.' 

The  distance  between  Canada  and  the  Red  River  Settle- 
ment by  the  canoe  route  is  more  than  500  miles,  and  300  in 
an  air  line.  When  I  say  Canada,  I  mean  starting  from  Lake 
Superior,  which  is  generally  assumed  to  be  its  south-west 
frontier.  But  it  is  only  fair  to  state  that  the  Canadians  do 
not  admit  this,  and  lay  claim  to  territory  indefinitely  to  the 
west  of  the  lake.     The  fact  is.  that  the  Western  boundar\^  of 

V 


322         £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

Canada  has  never  been  accurately  defined.^  It  was  ceded  to 
Great  Britain  by  France  in  1763,  but  the  exact  extent  of  the 
territory  was  not  determined  ;  and  there  is  a  certain  portion 
of  '  debatable  land,'  between  Lake  Superior  and  the  posses- 
sions of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which,  as  I  shall  show 
hereafter,  has  caused  disputes  and  some  tragical  episodes  in 
the  history  of  the  Company. 

lliere  are  two  routes  between  Lake  Superior  and  the  Red 
River  Settlement  The  lower  one,  from  the  western  side  of 
the  lake,  proceeds  up  the  Pigeon  River,  along  vv^hich  runs  the 
boundary  line  between  British  America  and  the  United  States, 
and  then  through  a  long  series  of  swamps  and  ponds  and 
lakes  connected  by  intervening  rivers,  to  Rainy  Lake.  But 
many  of  the  rapids  are  so  furious  that  canoes  cannot  live  in 
them,  and  they  must  therefore  be  dragged  or  carried  along 
the  banks  for  considerable  distances,  which  arc  known  by  the 
name  of  Portages.  Rainy  Lake  is  connected  by  Rainy  River 
with  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  and  the  latter  lake  by  the  Win- 
nipeg River  with  Lake  Winnipeg,  into  which  the  Red  River 
flows,  as  I  have  already  mentioned.  It  would  be  shorter  to 
cross  direct  by  land  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  Fort 
Garry  ;  but  it  is  a  most  difficult,  if  not  impracticable  country, 
which  has  never  yet,  I  believe,  been  fully  explored.  Professor 
Hind,  writing  in  1859,  says,  '  Up  to  the  date  of  my  departure 
from  Red  River  last  year,  no  communication  had  been  effected 
in  summer  time  between  the  settlements  and  the  Lake  ^f 
the  Woods,  except  in  canoes,  although  every  effort  was  made 
to  pass  through  the  formidable  bogs  and  swamps  which  inter- 
vene. This  important  link  in  the  proposed  line  of  route  is 
still  a  terra  incognita  for  a  short  distance.' 

The  other,  called  the  Kaministiquia  route,  is  sixty-three 
miles  longer  than  that  by  the  Pigeon  River,  and  lies  more  to 
the  north.  It  starts  from  Fort  William  on  Lake  Superior, 
and  proceeds  up  the  Dog  River  to  Dog  Lake  ;  then  up  the 
Kaministiquia  River  to  the  Mille  Lacs,  or  Lake  of  the  Thou- 
sand Isles,  after  crossing  which,  it  traverses  a  rocky  country, 
through  a  series  of  winding  A\-aters  and  grassy  swamps,  until 

'  In  a  trial  for  murder  at  Quebec,  on  the  meridian  88°  50' west  of  London, 
in  1818,  tlie  court  lield  that  the  western  This  would  pass  through  Lake  Superior 
boundary  of  Upper  Canada  was  a  line      to  tlie  cast  of  Fort  AVilliam. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY    x-yx 

it  reaches  the  Riviere  la  Seine,  which  flows  into  the  Rainy 
Lake. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  accurately  the  number  of  the 
Indian  population  in  Rupert's  Land.  It  has  been  estimated 
at  about  43,000  souls  ;  but  this  is  said  to  be  one-fourth  too 
large.  Perhaps  we  may  assume  them  to  be  between  30,000 
and  40,000.  They  consist  of  different  tribes — the  Ojibways, 
the  Crees,  the  Blackfeet,  the  Sioux  (pronounced  Soos),  and 
the  Assiniboines.  The  animals  which  are  most  valuable  to 
them  are  the  buffalo,  the  horse,  and  the  dog.  The  Great 
Slave  Lake  is  the  northern  limit  of  the  buffaloes  :  vast  herds 
of  them  occupy  certain  well-known  and  determined  ranges, 
along  which  they  emigrate  at  different  seasons  in  search  of 
food.  It  is  said  that  the  sound  of  their  approach  can  be  re- 
cognised, '  by  applying  the  ear  to  a  badger  hole,'  fully  twenty 
miles  before  they  arrive,  if  the  weather  be  calm.  Amongst 
them  are  often  found  blind  buffaloes,  whose  eyes  have  been 
destroyed  by  prairie  fires  ;  but  they  are  more  wary  and  diffi- 
cult to  approach  than  those  possessing  sight.  The  Indians 
subsist  on  the  flesh  of  the  buffalo,  and  from  its  skin  and 
sinews  they  make  their  tents,  clothing,  saddles,  bow-strings, 
and  dog-harness.  Tea  with  them  is  becoming  a  luxury,  and 
the  taste  for  it  ought,  by  every  means,  to  be  encouraged  as  a 
substitute  for  spirits.  Their  Heaven  is  the  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds,  'where  buffaloes  range  as  thick  as  rain  drops  in 
summer.' 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  undertook  a  mission  to 
Rupert's  Land  in  1822,  and  in  1857  they  had  there  thirteen 
stations.  The  number  of  clergymen,  including  the  bishop 
and  the  chaplain  (whose  salaries  are  partly  paid  by  the  Com- 
pany), in  that  year  amounted  to  seventy  ;  and  it  was  estimated 
that  8,000  or  10,000  Indians  were  under  Christian  instruction. 
A  free  passage  is  given  by  the  Company  to  the  missionaries  ; 
and,  to  use  the  expression  of  the  secretary  of  the  societ}-, 
'  they  have  countenanced  the  labours  of  the  missionaries  so 
far  as  they  have  not  interfered  with  their  trading  occupations.' 
The  bishop.  Dr.  Anderson,  in  his  evidence  before  the  House 
of  Commons,  in  1857,  said  that  the  missionaries  were  very 
devoted  and  faithful  men,  and  were  doing  a  vast  amount  of 
good.     Besides  these,  there  were  two  native  Indian  clergymen 


324         £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

and  Roman  Catholic  priests.     Sir  George  Back  stated  in  his 
evidence  before  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in 
1857,  that  when  he  was  in  the  territory,  he  saw  nothing  but 
the  utmost  kindness  to  the  Indians  and  fairness  in  deahng  ; 
he  never  knew  an  Indian  turned  away  without  his  wants 
being  suppHed,  whether  he  had  furs  to  give  in  return  or  not : 
and  he  saw  strong  instances  of  great  benevolence  on  the  part 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  officers.     One  fact  is  very  creditable  to 
the  poor  Indians.     I  have  been  assured  on  the  best  authority 
that  in  courts  of  justice  they  may  always  be  relied  upon  to 
speak  the  truth.     Perhaps  this  arises  not  so  much  from  con- 
scientious motives — for  the  moral  principle  must  be  very  v.'eak 
in  untutored  savages — as  from  the  awe  inspired  by  an  idea 
of  the  superior  intelligence  of  the  white  man,  and   the  fear 
that  as  he  knows  everything,  he  will  be  able  to  confound  them 
if  they  venture  to    tell   a  lie.      Many  of  the  Christianised 
Indians  have   family  worship   night   and   morning,  and  are 
quick  in  learning  to  read  and  write.     The  efforts  of  the  Com- 
pany to  prevent  the  introduction  of  that  fatal  curse  which 
generally  follows  in  the  wake  of  Europeans — I  mean  the  use 
of  spirits — deserves  eveiy  praise.     One  of  the  rules  of  the  fur 
trade  is  '  that  the  Indians  be  treated  with  kindness  and  indul- 
gence, and  mild  and  conciliatory  means  resorted  to,  to  en- 
courage industry,  repress  vice,  and  inculcate  morality ;  and 
that  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  be  gradually  discountenanced 
in  those  very  few  districts  in  which  it  is  yet  indispensable.' 
It  is  stated  in  a  letter,  addressed  by  Sir  John  Pelly,  the  then 
governor  of  the  Company,  to  Earl  Grey,  the  Colonial  Secre- 
tary, in   1850,  that  the  average  quantity  of  spirits   annually 
imported  by  the  Company  into  the  whole  of  the  territories  at 
that  time  under  their  control,  to  the   east  and  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains — if  distributed  equally  amongst  the  persons 
employed   in  their  service — would  amount  to  less  than  two 
table-spoonfuls    daily  to   each    man,   and    this   included  the 
supply  furnished  to  the  troops   stationed   at  Red  River.     I 
need  hardly  add  that  the  use  of  spirits  as  an  article  of  barter 
for  furs  is  most  strictly  forbidden. 

But  it  is  of  course  very  difficult  along  such  a  line  of  fron- 
tier, divided  from  the  United  States  by  only  an  imaginary 
boundaiy,  to  prevent  altogether  the  introduction   of  spirits. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSOiWS  BAY  COMPAXY.  325 

An  illicit  traffic  in  funs  is  carried  on  between  the  Red  River 
Settlement  and  Pembina,  which  is  within  the  American  ter- 
ritory ;  and  the  article  of  exchange  chiefly  used  is  spirits,  of 
which  the  Indians,  like  all  savages,  are  passionately  fond.^ 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  if  the  trade  in  furs  were  thrown 
open  the  fire-water,  like  a  destroying  angel,  would  extermi- 
nate the  race  of  the  Red  Man. 

Such  is  the  territory  which  was  granted  in  the  year  of 
grace,  1670,  by  Charles  II.  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

The  charter  of  incorporation  recites,  that  whereas  'our 
dear  and  entirely  beloved  cousin '  Prince  Rupert,  Count  Pala- 
tine of  the  Rhine,  Christopher  Duke  of  Albemarle,  and  other 
persons  therein  named,  had  at  their  own  great  costs  and 
charges  undertaken  an  expedition  for  Hudson's  Bay,  in  the 
north-west  part  of  America,  for  the  discovery  of  a  new  pas- 
sage into  the  South  Sea,  and  for  the  finding  some  trade  for 
'  furs,  minerals,  and  other  considerable  commodities,'  the  king 
granted  that  they  should  be  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  by 
the  name  of  '  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  of 
England  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,'  and  have  a  common 
seal.  It  then  made  provision  for  the  government  of  the  Com- 
pany, and  gave  and  granted  to  it  *  the  sole  trade  and  com- 
merce of  all  those  seas,  straits,  bays,  rivers,  lakes,  creeks,  and 
sounds,  in  whatsoever  latitude  they  shall  be,  that  lie  within  the 
entrance  of  the  straits  commonly  called  Hudson's  Straits, 
together  with  all  the  lands  and  territories  upon  the  countries, 
coasts,  and  confines  of  the  seas,  bays,  lakes,  rivers,  creeks,  and 
sounds  aforesaid,  that  are  not  actually  possessed  or  granted 
to  any  of  our  subjects,  or  possessed  by  the  subjects  of  any 
other  Christian  prince  or  state,  with  the  fishing  of  all  sorts  of 
fish,  whales,  sturgeons,  and  all  other  royal  fishes,'  within  the 
said  limits,  'and  all  mines  royal,  as  well  discovered  as  not 
discovered,  of  gold,  silver,  gems,  and  precious  stones.'  It 
next  declared  that  the  said  land  should  thenceforth  be  reckoned 
and  computed  as  one  of  our  plantations  or  colonies  in  America, 
called  'Rupert's  Land,'  and  constituted  the  governor  and 
Company  and  their  successors  '  the  true  and  absolute   lords 

'  It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  how-      not  to  drink  spirits,  and  they  always  rc- 
ever,   that  the  numerous  tribe   of  the      fuse  them  when  offered. 
Chipeway  Indians  in  the  north  are  said 


326         £SSAVS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

and  proprietors  of  the  same  territory,'  saving  always  the  faith, 
allegiance,  and  sovereign  dominion  due  to  us,  our  heirs  and 
successors,  as  of  our  manor  of  East  Greenwich,  in  our  county 

of  Kent,  in  free  and   common  socage yielding  and 

paying  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors  for  the  same  two  elks 
and  two  black  beavers,  wheresoever,  and  as  often  as  we,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  shall  happen  to  enter  into  the  said  coun- 
tries, territories,  and  regions  hereby  granted.'  Hitherto  the 
condition  has  not  been  found  onerous,  for  no  part  of  the 
territory  has  yet  been  honoured  by  a  royal  visit,  nor  is  it 
likely  to  be  so  ;  which  is  perhaps  fortunate,  for  possibly  the 
elks  might  not  be  forthcoming.  The  king  then  empowered 
the  governor  and  Company  to  make  laws  and  ordinances  for 
good  government,  to  impose  pains  and  penalties  and  punish- 
ments for  the  breach  of  them,  '  so  always  as  the  said  laws, 
constitutions,  orders  and  ordinances,  fines  and  amerciaments 
be  reasonable,  and  not  contrary  or  repugnant,  but  as  near  as 
may  be  agreeable  to  the  laws,  statutes,  or  customs  of  this  our 
realm.'  The  charter  next  granted  that  the  Company  should 
have  'the  whole,  entire,  and  only  trade'  to  and  from  the 
territory,  and  to  and  from  '  all  havens,  bays,  creeks,  rivers, 
lakes,  and  seas  into  which  they  shall  find  entrance  or  passage 
by  water  or  land'  out  of  it  ;  and  that  no  part  of  it  should  be 
visited,  frequented,  or  haunted  by  any  of  the  other  subjects 
of  the  Crown  '  contrary  to  the  true  meaning  of  these  presents, 
and  by  virtue  of  oiir  prerogative  royal,  ivJiieh  zve  ivill  not  have 
in  that  behalf  argued  or  brought  in  question' 

The  king  then  prohibited  his  other  subjects  from  visiting 
or  trading  with  the  territory,  unless  by  licence  from  the 
governor  and  Company  in  writing  under  their  common  seal, 
under  pain  of  his  royal  indignation,  and  forfeiture  of  such 
goods  and  merchandise  brought  into  England  or  any 
dominions  of  the  Crown,  and  the  ships  conveying  them.  The 
charter  also  empowered  the  governor  and  company  to  appoint 
governors    and    councils    of  the    plantations,   forts,  factories, 

'  On  a  case  submitted   in   1 8 14  to  ^vatcl■s   of  which   flow    into    Hudson's 

Sir  .Samuel  Romilly,  Mr.  Scarlett,  Mr.  Bay.'     It   is,    however,   not   altogether 

Ilolroyd,    Mr.    Cruise,  and    Mr.    Bell,  easy  to  determine  which  waters  in  their 

those  eminent  lawyers  said  :   '  \Ye  are  course  flow  towards  Hudson's  Bay  and 

of  opinion  that  the  grant  of  the  soil  con-  which  towards  the  Arctic  Sea,  as  several 

tained  in  the  charter  is  good,  and  that  of  the    lakes   communicate   with   each 

it   will    include  all   the    countries    the  other,  and  have  different  outlets. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.    327 

colonies,  and  places  of  trade  within  the  territory,  who  were  to 
have  power  'to  judge  all  persons  belonging  to  the  said 
governor  and  Company,  or  that  shall  live  under  them,  in  all 
causes,  whether  civil  or  criminal,  according  to  the  laws  of 
this  kingdom,  and  to  execute  justice  accordingly.'  And  in 
case  any  crime  should  be  committed  in  places  '  where  judica- 
ture cannot  be  executed  for  want  of  a  governor  and  councils 
there,'  then  the  offenders  were  to  be  sent  to  such  other 
plantation,  factory,  or  fort  where  there  should  be  a  governor 
and  council,  or  into  England,  '  as  shall  be  thought  most 
convenient.'  The  governor  and  Company  were  also  empowered 
to  make  peace  or  war  with  any  prince  or  people  whatsoever 
'  that  are  not  Christians,'  to  erect  castles,  forts,  garrisons, 
colonies,  or  plantations  within  the  limits  of  their  territory, 
and  to  seize  and  send  to  England  any  of  the  king's  subjects 
who  might  sail  to  Hudson's  Bay  or  inhabit  any  of  the 
countries  thereby  granted  without  the  leave  of  the  Company. 
And  in  case  any  person  convicted  of  an  offence  by  a  president 
and  council  in  the  territory  should  appeal  from  the  sentence, 
it  was  to  be  lawful  for  the  president  and  council  to  seize  him 
and  carry  him  home  prisoner  to  England  to  the  said  governor 
and  Company,  'there  to  receive  such  condign  punishment 
as  his  cause  shall  require,  and  the  law  of  the  nation  shall 
allow  of.' 

Notwithstanding  the  stern  command  of  King  Charles, 
that  he  would  not  have  his  prerogative  to  grant  the  right 
of  exclusive  trade  to  the  Company  'argued  or  brought  in 
question,'  the  impertinent  curiosity  of  lawyers  has  scanned 
the  charter,  and  grave  doubts  have  been  expressed  whether 
the  Crown  had  the  power  to  confer  on  any  of  its  subjects  a 
monopoly  of  trade.  The  same  thing  had  been  done  in  the 
case  of  the  East  India  Company,  which  was  incorporated  in 
the  year  1600  by  a  charter  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  when  the 
question  was  raised  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  in 
the  case  of  the  East  India  Company  v.  Sandys,  in  the  Court 
of  Queen's  Bench,  it  was  held  that  the  grant  was  good  in 
law.  But  the  reasoning  of  the  judges,  headed  by  Chief 
Justice  Jefferies,  who,  according  to  Roger  North,  '  espoused 
the  matter  with  great  fury,'  is  more  ingenious  than  sound  ; 
and  few  lawyers  at  the  present  day  would  be  likely  to  dissent 


328  ESSAVS    critical   AND   NARRATn^E. 

from  the  opinion  of  the  late  Lord  Campbell,  who  says  (Life 
of  Lord  Jefiferies,  '  Lives  of  the  Lord  Chancellors,'  vol,  iii.  p. 
581)  that  the  doctrine  is  'contrary  to  our  notions  on  the 
subject.'  I  will  not  argue  the  question  here,  and  it  is  really  of 
no  practical  importance,  for  the  proprietary  rights  and  powers 
of  government  conferred  by  the  charter  on  the  Company  are 
unassailable,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  a  case  will  occur  in 
which  they  Avill  think  it  desirable  to  challenge  the  opinion  of 
a  court  of  law  upon  the  subject  J  As  owners  of  the  territory 
and  lords  of  the  soil,  they  are  entitled  to  treat  all  intruders  as 
trespassers. 

The  Company  adopted  the  appropriate  motto  Pro  pelle 
aitem,  '  Skin  for  skin,'  which  happily  and  wittily  expresses  the 
nature  of  their  trade. 

The  Canadians  assert  that  the  territory  thus  granted  by 
King  Charles,  in  1670,  actually  then  belonged  to  the  Crown 
of  France,  and  had  been  previously  granted  by  charter  in 
1623,  by  Louis  XIII.,  to  a  company  called  La  Campagnic  de 
Nouvclle  France,  '  New  France '  being  one  of  the  names  by 
which  Canada  was  then  known.  This  charter  is  said  to  exist 
in  the  archives  of  the  Canadian  government,  but  I  have  not 
seen  a  copy  of  it,  nor  am  I  aware  that  it  has  ever  been 
published. 

It  has  been  also  asserted  that  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  in 
17 1 3,  a  portion  only  of  the  shores  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  was 
ceded  to  England,  and  that  stipulations  were  made  for  the 
protection  of  the  Company  of  New  France,  But  on  referring 
to  the  treaty,  it  will  be  found  that  this  is  a  mistake,  and  that 
there  is  in  it  the  fullest  recognition  of  the  title  of  the  Crown 
of  England  to  the  whole  of  the  territory  in  question.  As  the 
matter  is  of  some  importance,  I  will  quote  the  words  of  the 
treaty  in  the  original  Latin  : — 

Dictus  Rex  Christianissimus  sinum  et  fretum  de  Hudson  una  cum  omnibus 
terris,  maribus,  oris  maritimis,  fluviis,  locisque,  in  dicto  sinu  et  freto  sitis,  d  ad 
eadein  spectantibiis,  nullis  sive  terrre  sive  mai^is  spatiis  exceptis,  qute  subditis  Gallite 
in  prresenti  possessa  sunt,  regno  et  reginae  Magna;  Britannice,  pleno  jure  in  per- 
petuum  possidenda,  lestituet. 

'  In  his  evidence  before  the  com-  fair  opinion  upon  this  subject,  since  I 

mittee  of  the  House  of  Commons,   in  have  taken  the  opinion  of  every  lawyer 

1857,  Mr.  ElHcesaid:   '  I  conceive  that  against    the   Company     when    I    was 

cliarter  to  give  the  rights  expressed  in  opposed  to  them,  and  for  the  Company 

it:  some  of  them  may  be  doubtful.     I  since  I  have  been  connected  with  tli  em,' 
ought  to  be  able  to  express  a  tolerably 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BA  V  COMPANY.    329 

And  it  was  provided  that  the  Company  of  New  France,  or 
Societas  Qiicbcccnsis,  as  it  was  called,  should  evacuate  the 
territory  with  all  their  property.  Moreover,  the  king-  of 
France  agreed  to  indemnify  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for 
all  damages  they  had  sustained  from  hostile  incursions  and 
depredations  of  the  YvQwch—vigcnie  pace — before  the  war. 
So  that  there  could  not  be  a  clearer  acknowledgment  that 
France  had  no  claim  except  that  which  recent  conquest  had 
given  her,  for  she  undertook  to  '  restore '  whatever  part  of  the 
territory  she  had  seized,  and  to  make  good  all  losses  sustained 
by  the  Company  at  the  hands  of  French  subjects  while  the  two 
were  at  peace.' 

As  might  naturally  be  expected,  the  Company  at  first 
confined  their  operations  to  the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay  and 
the  northern  parts  of  the  territory  ;  and  it  seems  that  they  did 
not  actually  occupy  the  valley  of  the  Saskatchewan  until  the 
latter  end  of  the  last  century,  nor  the  valley  of  the  Assiniboine 
and  the  Red  River  until  the  beginning  of  the  present.  In  the 
meantime,  they  gradually  pushed  their  forts  up  the  rivers — ■ 
such  as  the  Churchill,  the  Nelson,  the  Albany,  and  the  Moose 
— that  flow  into  Hudson's  Bay.  But  in  the  middle  of  the 
last  century  they  possessed  only  five  or  six  forts  altogether. 
In  1748  a  petition  was  presented  to  a  committee  of  the  Privy 
Council,  complaining  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had 
not  effectually  or  in  earnest  searched  for  a  new  passage  into 
the  South  Sea,  and  had  obstructed  its  discovery  by  others  ; 
and  that  since  the  date  of  their  charter,  they  had  not 
taken  possession  of,  nor  occupied  any  of,  the  lands  granted  to 
them,  nor  made  any  plantation  or  settlement  except  four 
factories  and  one  small  trading-house.  The  petitioners  prayed, 
therefore,  that  they  might  be  incorporated  '  for  finding  out  the 
said  passage,'  and  that  they  might  have  a  grant  of  all  the 
lands  they  should  discover  and  settle  not  already  occupied 

'  By  the  Treaty  Commissioners  were  but  the  Act  was  to  be  in  force  only  for 

to  be  appointed  to  determine  the  limits  seven  years,  and  thence  to  the   end  of 

inter  dictum  siitum  de  Hudson  ct  loca  ad  the  next  session  of  Parliament  ;  and  it 

Gallos  spcctantia  :  but  if  they  were  ap-  b.as   been    contended,     therefore,     that 

pointed,  I  do  not  find  that  any  boundary  when  the  Act  expired   the  privileges  of 

was  ever  settled.     In   1690  an  Act  (2  the  Company  ceased.     But  at  all  events 

William,  and  Mary  c.    15)  was  passed  they  have  been  expressly  recognised  by 

for    confirming   to   the    Hudson's    Bay  several  subsequent  statutes. 
Company  all  their  rights  and  privileges  ; 


330         ESSAYS    CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

and  settled  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  with  the  right  of 
exclusive  trade  therein.  The  petition  was  referred  by  the 
Privy  Council  to  the  Attorney-General,  Sir  Dudley  Ryder, 
and  the  Solicitor-General,  Sir  William  Murray,  afterwards 
Lord  Mansfield,  who,  having  heard  counsel  on  both  sides, 
reported  that  the  charges  were  '  either  not  sufficiently  sup- 
ported in  point  of  fact,  or  in  a  great  measure  accounted  for 
from  the  nature  or  circumstances  of  the  case.' 

In  1749,  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  was 
appointed  to  inquire  into  the  state  and  condition  of  the 
countries  adjoining  Hudson's  Bay,  and  the  trade  carried  on 
there;  and  their  report  contains  some  curious  matter.  It 
appears  from  it  that  the  servants  of  the  Company  in  Rupert's 
Land  were  not  allowed  to  converse  with  the  Indians,  on  pain 
of  being  whipped  and  forfeiting  their  wages ;  and  one  of  the 
witnesses  stated  that  the  governor  there  forbade  him  to  teach 
an  Indian  boy,  adding  that  he  had  a  general  order  from  the 
Company  that  none  of  the  natives  should  be  instructed.  He 
said  that  there  was  no  clergyman  nor  divine  worship  of  any 
kind  in  the  territory.  Lake  Winnipeg  at  this  time  was  called 
Lake  Ouinipique,  and  the  Red  River,  the  Little  Ouinipique  ; 
and  the  country  there  was  described  as  full  of  beavers.  The 
Indians  were  said  to  use  no  milk  from  the  time  they  were 
weaned,  and  to  hate  cheese,  *  having  taken  up  an  opinion  that 
it  is  dead  men's  fat.'  The  Company  must  have  been  doing  a 
good  trade  at  this  time,  for  I  find  that  the  average  value  of 
their  exports  during  the  preceding  ten  years,  was  about 
5,000/.  a-year,  and  their  yearly  sales  during  the  same  period 
averaged  29,000/. 

But  to  go  on  with  the  history  of  the  Company,  At  the 
end  of  the  last  century  Earl  Selkirk,  a  benevolent  young 
Scotch  nobleman,  visited  the  Highlands,  which  were  then  a 
terra  incognita  to  tourists,  and  finding  that  emigration  to  the 
United  States  was  going  on  to  a  considerable  extent,  he 
thought  that  it  would  be  desirable  to  turn  the  tide  into  our 
own  colonies.  Having  matured  his  plans,  he  headed  a  body 
of  settlers,  who  sailed  for  Prince  Edward's  Island,  and  estab- 
lished themselves  there  in  1803.  The  success  of  the  experi- 
ment induced  him  to  make  a  bolder  venture,  and  in  181 1  he 
obtained  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  a  grant  by  deed 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.    331 

of  a  portion  of  their  territory  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Red  River. 
Here  he  planted  a  Settlement  of  Scotch  emigrants,  and 
became  a  sort  of  patriarchal  governor. 

In  1817  he  made  a  treaty  with  the  Chippeway  and  Crec 
Indians,  in  order  to  extinguish  any  rights  they  might  claim 
over  the  land  occupied  by  the  Settlement.  The  instrument 
was  signed,  or  rather  marked,  by  four  chiefs  of  the  tribes,  who 
each  scrawled  under  it  the  rude  figure  of  an  animal ;  and  they 
thereby  ceded  to  'our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King'  a  certain 
tract  of  country  in  the  Red  River,  on  condition  that  Lord 
Selkirk,  his  heirs  and  successors,  should  pay  annually  to  the 
chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  two  tribes  '  one  hundred  pounds 
weight  of  good  merchantable  tobacco.' 

The  geological  nature  of  the  land  of  the  Settlement  is  the 
limestone  formation,  and  the  soil  is  composed  of  the  dcbns  of 
granite  and  limestone,  with  a  large  proportion  of  decayed 
vegetable  matter.  It  is  extremely  fertile,  and  when  well 
cultivated  yields  large  crops  of  the  finest  wheat.  But  the 
colony  did  not  prosper.  It  was  too  far  removed  from  the 
operations  of  commerce,  and  had  no  means  of  market  or 
export  except  by  the  difficult  and  at  certain  seasons  impractic- 
able route  of  the  Nelson  River  to  York  Fort  on  Hudson's 
Bay.  Half  of  the  original  settlers  abandoned  the  Red  River, 
as  they  found  that  they  had  no  market  for  their  produce. 
They  were  scorched  by  the  heat  in  summer  and  frozen  in  the 
winter,  and  they  more  than  once  took  refuge  in  Pembina. 
The  late  Mr.  Edward  Ellice  said  in  his  evidence  before  the 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  '  It  was  an  unwise 
speculation  settling  people  in  a  country  where  they  could 
send  no  produce  to  market,  where  they  could  be  in  communi- 
cation with  no  neighbouring  settlement,  and  accordingly  it 
has  failed.'  The  Settlement  was  purchased  back  from  Lord 
Selkirk  or  his  heirs  by  the  Company  in  1834,  and  since  that 
time  it  has  remained  in  their  possession.  It  now  occupies  in 
a  straggling  manner  about  fifty  miles,  of  the  course  of  the 
Assiniboine,  and  twenty  miles  of  the  course  of  the  Red  River, 
and  the  population  may  be  estimated  at  about  12,000  souls. 
Fort  Garry  is  the  principal  station,  or  rather  there  are  two 
forts— an  upper  and  a  lower  one.  The  lower  fort  occupies 
three  or  four  acres,  but  the  upper  one  is  not  quite  so  large, 


332         ASSAYS    CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

and  they  are  both  surrounded  by  stone  walls,  flanked  by 
towers.  In  their  interesting  book,  called  '  The  North-West 
Passage  by  Land,'  Lord  Milton  and  Dr.  Cheadle  say  : — 

From  Red  River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  along  the  banks  of  the  Assiniboine 
and  the  fertile  hills  of  the  Saskatchewan,  at  least  sixty  millions  of  acres  of  the 
richest  soil  lie  ready  for  the  farmer  when  he  shall  be  allowed  to  enter  in  and 
possess  it.  This  glorious  country,  capable  of  sustaining  an  enormous  population, 
lies  utterly  useless,  except  for  the  support  of  a  few  Indians,  and  the  enrichment  of 
the  shareholders  of  the  Last  Great  Monopoly. 

This  last  remark  is  not  quite  fair,  for  that  part  of  the  territory 
contributes  little  or  nothing  to  the  exchequer  of  the  Company, 
as  the  fur-bearing  animals  hardly  exist  there,  and  no  trade 
is  carried  on  in  that  region  from  which  the  Company  derives 
benefit. 

I  have  mentioned  that  the  Western  frontier  of  Canada  has 
never  been  authoritatively  defined,  and  on  one  occasion,  in 
1818,  when  a  question  of  jurisdiction  was  raised  in  a  criminal 
trial  at  Toronto,  under  a  commission  from  Lower  Canada,  the 
court  directed  the  jury  to  return  a  special  verdict,  stating  that 
*  they  could  not  see  from  any  evidence  before  them  what  were 
the  limits  of  Upper  Canada.'  The  Chief  Justice  said,  '  I  do 
not  know  whether  from  90°  to  100°  or  150°  forms  the  western 
limit  of  Upper  Canada.' 

Soon  after  the  cession  of  Canada  by  France  to  England 
in  1763,  traders  from  Montreal  began  to  push  their  way- 
towards  the  west  in  search  of  furs.  They  followed  the  Pigeon 
River  route  from  Lake  Superior,  and  in  spite  of  King 
Charles's  charter  encroached  not  only  upon  the  territory  but 
the  privileges  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  \\\  1784  these 
traders  formed  themselves  into  a  Company,  and  for  many 
years  a  civil  war  raged  in  Rupert's  Land  between  the  two 
rival  companies,  in  which  sanguinary  battles  were  fought  and 
many  lives  were  lost.  Before  long  a  second  Canadian  com- 
pany, called  the  X.  Y.  Company,  came  into  the  field,  and  the 
confusion  was  worse  confounded. 

All  readers  of  Washington  Irving's  'Astoria'  must 
remember  the  account  which  that  delightful  writer  gives  of 
the  North-West  Company,  which,  as  he  says,  '  for  a  time  held 
a  lordly  sway  over  the  wintry  lakes  and  boundless  forests  of 
the  Canadas,  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  East  India  Company 
over  the  voluptuous  climes  and   magnificent   realms  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY,    ly^, 

Orient.'  They  had  in  their  employ  two  thousand  persons 
and  the  principal  partners  resided  in  Montreal,  where,  as 
Washington  Irving  says,  they  formed  a  kind  of  commercial 
aristocracy  living  in  lordly  and  hospitable  style.  Two  or 
three  of  them  used  to  meet  every  year  at  Fort  William  the 
superintendents  of  the  trading  posts  in  the  wilderness,  who 
came  there  with  a  body  of  retainers,  like  chieftains  of  the 
Highland  clans. 

The  councils  were  held  in  great  state,  for  every  member  felt  as  if  sitting  in 
Parliament,  and  every  retainer  and  dependent  looked  up  to  the  assemblage  with 
awe  as  to  the  House  of  Lords.  There  was  a  vast  deal  of  solemn  deliberation  and 
hard  Scottish  reasoning,  with  an  occasional  swell  of  pompous  declamation.  These 
great  and  weighty  councils  were  alternated  by  huge  feasts  and  revels,  like  some 
of  the  old  feasts  described  in  Highland  castles.  The  tables  in  the  great  banqueting 
room  groaned  under  the  weight  of  game  of  all  kinds,  of  venison  from  the  woods 
and  fish  from  the  lakes,  with  hunters'  delicacies,  such  as  buffaloes'  tongues  and 
beavers'  tails,  and  various  luxuries  from  Montreal,  all  served  up  by  experienced 
cooks  brought  for  the  purpose.  There  was  no  stint  of  generous  wine,  for  it  was 
a  hard-drinking  period,  a  time  of  loyal  toasts  and  bacchanalian  songs,  and  brim- 
ming bumpers. 

Such  was  the  company  of  the  'mighty  North-Westers,'  at 
whose  board  the  youthful  Washington  Irving  often  sat,  and 
who  for  many  years  were  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company. 

The  effects  of  the  contest  have  been  described  as  '  the 
demoralisation  of  the  Indians  ;  liquor  was  introduced  as  a 
medium  of  trade  throughout ;  there  were  riots  and  breaches 
of  the  peace  continually  taking  place,  and  the  country  was  in 
a  state  of  great  disorganization.' 

Sir  John  Richardson  made  the  following  statement  to  the 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1857  of  what  he  saw 
in  1 8 19,  when  he  accompanied  Sir  John  Franklin  on  his  first 
expedition  : — 

Landing  at  York  Factory,  we  found  several  of  the  members  of  the  North- 
West  Company  prisoners  in  the  fott  ;  they  had  been  captured  shortly  before  we 
arrived  there.     One  of  them,  a    Mr.    Frobisher,   escaped  with   some   men   and 

perished ;  he  died  for  want  of  food  in  attempting  to  make  his  escape We 

found  both  parties  supplying  the  Indians  liberally  with  spirits.  The  Indians  were 
spending  days  in  drunkenness  at  the  different  posts,  and  a  contest  altogether  shock- 
ing to  humanity  was  carried  on. 

Lord  Selkirk  naturally  took  the  side  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  in  its  contest  with  the  Canadian  interlopers,  and 
he  became  a  very  active  partizan.     He  treated   the  North- 


334         ESSAYS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

West  Company  as  poachers,  and  warned  them  by  proclama- 
tion that  they  had  no  right  to  kill  any  animals  on  his  land. 
Scenes  of  bloodshed  were  frequent,  and  in  June,  1816,  a 
battle  was  fought  on  the  Frog  Plains,  near  the  Red  River, 
when  a  wild  body  of  '  North-Westers,'  consisting  of  half- 
breeds  and  Indians,  attacked  the  Settlement,  and  the  governor 
and  twenty  of  his  followers  were  killed.  The  whole  colony 
were  driven  from  their  homes,  and  took  refuge  at  Norway 
House,  on  the  north  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  Earl  Selkirk  was 
at  this  time  on  his  way  from  Montreal,  at  the  head  of  a 
motley  body  of  disbanded  soldiers — chiefly  foreigners — and 
in  retaliation  he  seized  on  Fort  William,  at  Lake  Superior, 
which  was  then  the  head-quarters  of  the  North-West  Com- 
pany, and  arrested  the  principal  partner,  Mr.  McGillivray, 
taking  possession  of  all  the  property.  Actions  of  trespass 
were  brought  against  him  in  the  Canadian  courts  by  different 
parties,  and  verdicts  for  heavy  damages  were  given.  Criminal 
proceedings  were  also  instituted,  and  a  bill  of  indictment  was 
preferred  against  him  and  his  associates.  The  colony  was 
brought  back  to  the  Red  River,  and  soon  afterwards  Lord 
Selkirk  left  the  settlement  and  did  not  return  to  it. 

Earl  Bathurst  was  at  this  time  (1820)  the  Colonial 
Secretary,  and  being  at  his  wits'  end  to  know  how  to  deal 
v/ith  the  belligerents,  he  availed  himself  of  the  shrewd 
sagacity  of  the  late  Mr.  Ellice,  who  had  been  one  of  the  most 
influential  members  of  the  North- West  Company.  Under  his 
able  management,  a  union  of  the  two  companies  was  affected 
on  the  basis  of  equality,  so  far  as  possible,  amongst  the 
respective  shareholders. 

In  1 82 1,  an  Act  (i  and  2  Geo,  IV.  c.  66)  was  passed, 
authorising  the  Crown  to  grant  a  licence  for  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  trading  with  the  Indians  in  such  parts  of  North 
America  as  were  not  part  of  the  territory  granted  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  of  any  of  the  British  '  provinces ' 
in  North  America,  or  '  of  any  lands  or  territories  belonging  to 
the  United  States  of  America  ; '  but  the  licence  was  not  to  be 
given  for  more  than  twenty-one  years.  Under  this  Act,  the 
Crown,  at  the  end  of  1821,  granted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  to  William  and  Simon  McGillivray  and 
Edward  Ellice,  who  represented  the  North-West  Company,  a 


HISTOR  V  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BA  V  COMPANY.     335 

licence  for  the  sole  exclusive  privilege  of  trading  with  the 
Indians  for  twenty-one  years  within  the  above-named  limits  ; 
and  it  provided  that  they  should  give  security  in  the  penal 
sum  of  5,000/.,  for  ensuring  the  due  execution  of  criminal 
process  and  civil  process,  where  the  matter  in  dispute 
exceeded  200/.,  *  by  the  officers  and  persons  legally  em- 
powered to  execute  such  processes '  within  the  territories 
included  in  the  licence.  They  were  also  required  to  submit, 
for  the  royal  approval,  such  rules  as  might  appear  to  the 
Crown  to  be  effectual  for  gradually  diminishing,  or  ultimately 
preventing,  the  sale  of  spirits  to  the  Indians,  and  for  pro- 
moting their  moral  and  religious  improvement. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  acquired,  by  agreement,  all 
the  rights  and  interest  of  the  North-West  Company  in  1824  ; 
and  it  was  therefore  unnecessary  to  continue  the  trading  part- 
nership with  the  Messrs.  McGillivray  and  Mr.  Ellice  ;  but  the 
licence  remained  in  force  until  1 838,  when  it  was  surrendered  to 
the  Crown,  and  a  new  one  Avas  granted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  alone,  for  another  period  of  twenty-one  years,  on 
similar  terms  as  before. 

There  was,  however,  an  important  proviso  added  to  the 
new  licence,  which  shows  that  the  Government  had  in  view 
the  possible  creation  of  a  colony  or  colonies  in  the  licensed 
territory.  It  was,  that  nothing  therein  contained  should 
prevent  the  establishment,  '  within  the  territories  aforesaid,  or 
any  of  them,'  of  any  colony  or  province,  or  annexing  any 
part  of  them  to  any  existing  colony.  The  proviso,  also,  for 
ensuring  due  execution  of  civil  process  was  extended  to  all 
suits,  whatever  might  be  the  amount  in  dispute.  This  last 
licence  expired  in  1859,  ^^^  ^^'^'^  ^''ot  since  been  renewed. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  general  impression  that  the 
Company  were  bound  by  their  licence  to  send  civil  and 
criminal  cases  that  arose  in  the  licensed,  as  distinguished 
from  the  chartered  territory,  to  the  courts  of  Canada  for  trial. 
But  this  is  a  mistake.  There  is  nothing  in  either  of  the 
licences  about  the  Canadian  courts  ;  and,  according  to  them, 
process  was  to  be  executed  by  the  officers  and  persons  legally 
empowered  within  the  licensed  territories.  But,  by  the  Act 
43  Geo.  III.  c.  138,  passed  in  1803,  it  was  enacted,  that  all 
offences   committed   -within  any  of  the  Indian   territories,  or 


336        ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

parts  of  America  not  within  the  Hmits  of  Canada  or  the 
United  States,  should  be  tried  as  if  they  had  been  committed 
within  the  provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada ;  and 
offenders  were  to  be  arrested  and  conveyed  to  Lower  Canada, 
to  be  tried  there,  or  in  certain  circumstances  in  Upper 
Canada.  Further,  by  the  Act  i  and  2  Geo.  IV.  c.  138,  passed 
in  1821,  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  over  the  same  region 
was  o-iven  to  the  courts  of  Upper  Canada ;  and  the  Crown 
was  empowered  to  appoint,  by  commission  under  the  Great 
Seal,  justices  of  the  peace,  to  hold  their  courts  of  record  far 
the  trial  of  civil  and  criminal  cases,  '  anything  in  the  charter 
of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Merchants  and  Adventurers 
of  England  trading  to  Hudson's  Bay  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing.' It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  Canadian  courts,  and 
the  Rupert's  Land  courts,  if  established  by  commission  under 
the  Great  Seal,  have  concurrent  jurisdiction  ;  but  I  believe  that 
no  such  courts  have  been  created. 

In  1839,  the  Company  took  on  lease  from  the  Russian 
Government  a  strip  of  coast,  on  the  seaboard  of  the  Pacific, 
between  Fort  Simpson  and  Cross  Sound,  for  which  they 
ac^reed  to  pay  a  rent  of  2,000  otters  a  year  ;  but  this  was 
afterwards  commuted  into  a  rent  in  money.  Before  the  treaty 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  in  1846,  which 
made  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  the  boundary 
between  the  territories  of  the  two  Governments,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  were  in  occupation  of  lands  south  of  that  line, 
in  what  are  now  the  States  of  Washington  and  Oregon ;  and 
it  was  expressly  provided  that  their  possessory  right,  as  well 
as  that  of  '  all  British  subjects  who  may  be  already  in  the 
occupation  of  land  or  other  property  lawfully  acquired  within 
the  said  territory,  shall  be  respected.'  And  the  late  well- 
known  American  statesman  and  lawyer,  Mr.  Daniel  Webster, 
said  in  an  opinion  he  gave,  that  he  entertained  no  doubt  that 
the  Company  had  a  vested  proprietary  right  in  the  lands. 
The  matter  was  referred  to  arbitration  before  a  commis- 
sion, sitting  at  Washington,  and  has,  I  believe,  not  yet  been 

decided. 

In  1849,  Vancouver's  Island  was  granted  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  under  certain  restrictions  and  conditions, 
which  I   need  not  detail,  but  which,  to   use  the  language  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BA  Y  COMPANY.    337 

Mr.  Ellice,  '  ensured  from  the  beginning  an  absolute  failure 
of  the  whole  scheme.'  The  truth  is,  that  a  trading  company- 
is  wholly  unfit  to  carry  out  a  system  of  colonisation,  and  the 
experiment  is  not  likely  to  be  again  attempted. 

In  1857,  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
to  which  I  have  so  often  referred,  was  appointed,  '  to  con- 
sider the  state  of  those  British  possessions  in  North  America 
which  are  under  the  administration  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  or  over  which  they  possessed  license  to  trade.'  It 
consisted  of  Mr.  Labouchere,  then  Colonial  Secretary,  Sir 
John  Pakington^  Lord  John  Russell,  Mr.  Gladstone,  Lord 
Stanley,  Mr.  Roebuck,  Mr.  Lowe,  and  others  ;  and,  after 
examining  a  great  number  of  witnesses,  and  obtaining  much 
valuable  evidence,  they  made  a  short  report,  in  which  they 
said  that  they  considered  it  essential  to  *  meet  the  just 
and  reasonable  wishes  of  Canada,  to  be  enabled  to  annex 
such  portion  of  the  land  in  her  neighbourhood  as  may  be 
available  to  her  for  the  purposes  of  settlement,  with  which 
lands  she  is  willing  to  open  and  maintain  communications, 
and  for  which  she  will  provide  the  means  of  local  administra- 
tion.' They  recommended,  also,  that  the  connection  between 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  Vancouver's  Island  should 
cease  : — 

As  to  those  extensive  regions,  whether  in  Rupert's  Land  or  in  the  Indian 
territory,  in  which,  for  the  present  at  least,  there  can  be  no  prospect  of  permanent 
settlement,  to  any  extent,  by  the  European  race  for  the  purposes  of  colonisation, 
the  opinion  at  which  your  committee  have  arrived  is  mainly  founded  on  the  follow- 
ing considerations  :  The  great  importance  to  the  more  peopled  portions  of  British 
North  America  that  law  and  order  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  maintained  in 
these  territories  ;  the  fatal  effects  which  they  believe  would  infallibly  result  to  the 
Indian  population  from  a  system  of  open  competition  in  the  fur  trade,  and  the 
consequent  introduction  of  spirits  in  a  far  greater  degree  than  is  the  case  at  pre- 
sent ;  and  the  probability  of  the  indiscriminate  destruction  of  the  more  valuable 
fur- bearing  animals  in  the  course  of  a  few  years.  For  these  reasons,  your  com- 
mittee are  of  opinion  that,  whatever  may  be  the  validity  or  otherwise  of  the  rights 
claimed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  under  the  charter,  it  is  desirable  that 
they  should  continue  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  exclusive  trade,  which  they  now 
possess. 

Soon  afterwards  Vancouver's  Island  was  wholly  withdrawn 
from  the  administration  of  the  Company,  and  erected  into  a 
colony ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  colony  of  Columbia  was 
established  on  the  mainland  opposite,  to  the  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

z 


338         £SSAVS    CRITICAL    AND   NARRATIVE. 

In  1863  a  change  took  place  in  the  proprietary  of  the  Com- 
pany. Their  capital  was  half-a-million  ;  and,  by  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  International  Financial  Society,  1,500,000/. 
was  paid  by  that  society  to  the  then  existing  shareholders, 
and  a  new  stock  was  created  to  the  extent  of  two  mil- 
lions, which  was  offered  to  the  public  in  shares  of  20/.  each. 
By  this  means  a  new  proprietary  was  created,  which  consti- 
tutes the  present  Company  ;  but  no  change  was  made  in  the 
charter,  and  all  the  rights  and  privileges  which  had  been 
granted  by  Charles  II.  remained  unaffected.  In  their  pro- 
spectus the  International  Financial  Society  stated  that  the 
landed  territory  of  the  Company  comprised  an  area  of  more 
than  1,400,000  square  miles,  or  upwards  of  896,000,000  acres  ; 
and  that  the  southern  district  (which  is  sometimes  designated 
the  Fertile  Belt)  would  be  opened  to  European  colonisation, 
'  under  a  liberal  and  systematic  system  of  land  settlement.' 
It  was  shown  that  the  average  net  annual  profits  of  the  Com- 
pany (after  setting  aside  40  per  cent,  as  remuneration  to  the 
factors  and  servants  at  the  posts  and  stations  in  Rupert's 
Land)  for  the  previous  ten  years  had  been  16  per  cent,  on  the 
old  capital  of  half-a-million,  and  would,  therefore,  amount  to 
4  per  cent,  upon  the  new  capital  of  two  millions. 

During  the  last  few  years  a  negotiation  has  been  going 
on  between  the  Company  and  the  Colonial  Office,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  surrender  of  their  rights  in  the  southern  portion  of 
their  territory,  either  to  the  Crown  or  to  Canada,  with  a  view 
to  colonisation.  One  important  question  was  the  amount  of 
compensation  to  which  the  Company  would  be  entitled. 
Canada,  however,  denied  their  legal  title  to  a  considerable  part 
of  the  territory.  In  a  report  of  a  Committee  of  the  Executive 
Council  of  Canada  in  June,  1866,  they  say  that  '  they  do  not 
admit  that  the  Company  have  a  legal  title  to  that  portion  of 
the  North-Western  territory  which  is  fit  for  cultivation  and 
settlement.  This  fertile  tract  is  a  belt  of  land  stretching 
along  the  northern  frontier  of  the  United  States  to  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  Canada  has  always  disputed 
the  title  of  the  Company  to  it.'  But  notwithstanding  this,  the 
Canadian  Government  were  prepared  to  admit  generally  the 
claims  of  the  Company,  and  would  themselves  have  opened 
negotiations  for  the  extinction  of  those  claims  if  the  Con- 


HISTOR  V  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BA  Y  COMPANY.    339 

federation  scheme  had  not  been  brought  forward,  when  it  was 
thought  that  the  question  ought  to  be  reserved  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Confederate  Government. 

In  December,  1867,  the  Parhament  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  agreed  to  an  address  to  Her  Majesty,  praying  that 
she  would  by  Order  in  Council  under  the  powers  of  the  Act 
by  which  the  Confederation  of  the  British  North  American 
Colonies  was  established,  unite  Rupert's  Land  and  the  North- 
Western  territory  to  Canada.  This  would  embrace  British 
Columbia,  and  make  the  new  Dominion  extend  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The  address  stated  that  in  the  event 
of  the  transfer  to  Canada  of  the  jurisdiction  and  control  over 
the  region,  the  Government  and  Parliament  of  Canada  would 
be  ready  to  provide  that  the  legal  rights  of  any  corporation, 
company,  or  individual  within  its  limits  should  be  respected 
and  placed  under  the  protection  of  courts  of  competent  juris- 
diction. But  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were  not  likely  to 
accede  to  this  proposal.  It  would,  if  carried  into  effect,  have 
handed  over  to  Canada  their  territor>^  and  placed  their  rights 
at  the  mercy  of  the  tribunals  of  a  Government  which  had 
gone  far  to  deny  that  they  possessed  any  legal  rights  at  all. 
It  was  like  conveying  a  property  to  a  purchaser,  and  giving 
him  the  absolute  power  of  determining  whether  he  should  pay 
anything  for  it  or  not.  Sir  John  Macdonald,  the  present 
Prime  Minister  of  Canada,  said  in  the  course  of  his  speech  on 
the  subject  in  the  Canadian  Parliament : — 

^Vhat  would  the  title  of  the  Company  be  worth  when  it  was  known  that  the 
country  belonged  to  Canada,  and  that  the  Canadian  Government  and  Canadian 
courts  had  jurisdiction  there,  and  that  the  chief  protection  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  the  value  of  their  property,  namely,  the  exclusive  right  of  trading 
in  those  regions,  were  gone  for  ever  ?  ....  The  value  of  the  Company's  interest 
would  be  determined  by  the  value  of  their  stock,  and  what  would  that  be  worth 
when  the  whole  country  belonged  to  Canada  ? 

The  address  from  the  Parliament  of  Canada  was  not  acted 
upon  so  far  as  it  prayed  for  an  annexation  of  the  territory  by 
an  Order  of  Council ;  but  an  Act  called  *  The  Rupert's  Land 
Act,  1868,'  was  passed  in  that  year  for  enabling  Her  Majesty 
to  accept  a  surrender,  upon  terms  to  be  agreed  upon,  of  the 
lands,  privileges,  and  rights  of  the  Company,  and  for  admit- 
ting the  same  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  And  quite 
recently  the  Colonial  Secretary,  Lord  Granville,  has  proposed 


340          ESSAYS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

that  the  Company  shall  surrender  to  Her  Majesty  all  their 
rights  of  government  and  property  in  Rupert's  Land  and 
other  parts  of  British  North  America,  which  will  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  Dominion  of  Canada  upon  Canada  paying  the 
company  300,000/.  as  compensation.  It  is  proposed  that  the 
Company  shall  retain  their  rights  of  trade,  their  stations,  and 
blocks  of  land  adjoining  them  ;  and  they  shall,  moreover, 
be  allowed  to  claim  one-twentieth  of  the  land  in  every  town- 
ship or  district  within  the  Fertile  Belt  as  it  is  set  out  for 
settlement. 

Looking  forward  to  the  future,  it  was  impossible  not  to 
see  that  a  change  must  take  place  in  the  destination  of 
Rupert's  Land.  It  could  not  always  remain'merely  a  hunting- 
ground  for  traders  in  furs.  Indeed,  the  southern  part  no 
longer  affords  to  the  same  extent  a  supply  of  those  articles  ; 
for  the  animals  are  decreasing  in  number,  and  the  valuable 
trade  is  in  the  northern  portion.  There  the  climate  and 
the  soil  are  alike  unfit  for  the  habitation  of  civilised  men,  and 
the  land  must  for  ages  be  the  abode  of  the  bear,  the  beaver, 
and  the  fox,  with  a  few  wandering  tribes  of  wretched  Indians, 
But  the  south  is  more  or  less  suitable  for  colonisation,  and 
many  considerations  point  to  Canada  as  the  country  to  which 
it  ought  to  be  annexed. 

In  the  report  of  a  committee  of  the  Executive  Council  of 
Canada  they  say  : — 

The  government  looks  forward  with  interest  to  the  day  when  the  valley  of  the 
Saskatchewan  will  become  the  back  country  of  Canada,  and  the  land  of  hope  for 
the  hardy  youth  of  the  province  when  they  seek  new  homes  in  the  forest  ;  and  it 
anticipates  with  confidence  the  day  when  Canada  will  become  the  highway  of 
immigration  from  Europe  into  those  fertile  valleys. 

There  are,  no  doubt,  serious  difficulties  to  overcome  in 
making  such  a  highway  and  effecting  a  ready  means  of  com- 
munication between  Lake  Superior  and  the  Red  River. 
Colonel  Crofton,  who  commanded  a  body  of  troops  that  were 
sent  to  Rupert's  Land  in  1846,  stated  before  the  committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  that  it  would  be  utterly  impossible 
to  make  a  road  for  wagons  there  on  account  of  the  swamps. 
But  the  word  '  impossible  '  is  said  not  to  be  found  in  the 
dictionary  of  engineers,  and  the  idea  of  a  railway  from  Canada, 
even  as  far  as  the  Pacific,  has  long  been  seriously  entertained. 


HISTORY  OF   THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.   341 

It  has  indeed  been  asserted  that  a  Canadian  swamp  is  'about 
the  best  ground  that  nature  ever  made  for  a  railway  track,' 
for  what  is  called  a  '  swamp '  there,  is  a  level  tract,  with  a 
thicket  growing  upon  it,  which  keeps  the  ground  damp  by- 
excluding  the  sun's  rays,  and  there  is  generally  a  stiff  clay 
bottom.' 

A  private  trading  company  like  that  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
has  not  authority  or  power  to  preserve  order  and  good  govern- 
ment amongst  a  large  population,  composed  as  it  undoubtedly 
will  be  before  long  in  a  great  measure  of  immigrants  from 
the  United  States,  by  no  means  disposed  to  submit  patiently 
to  law,  and  least  of  all  to  the  law  of  a  foreign  nation.  They 
would  require  the  strong  hand  of  a  powerful  Government,  and 
would  set  at  nought  the  feeble  authority  of  a  council  of  factors 
and  traders. 

The  Indians  sometimes  give  trouble  enough.  In  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Mactavish,  the  Governor  of  Rupert's  Land,  dated 
July  31,  1866,  he  says  that  a  band  of  Salt  Indians,  from  Red 
Lake,  in  Minnesota,  had  murdered  four  Sioux  within  sight  of 
Fort  Garry,  and  then  immediately  retired  within  the  American 
boundary.  And  at  Fort  Pitt,  on  the  Saskatchewan,  a  band 
of  Blackfeet  forced  the  inner  gates  of  the  fort  and  plundered 
it.  They  then  met  in  their  way  a  party  of  the  Company's 
servants  returning  from  the  plains,  and  after  firing  on  them, 
took  away  their  horses. 

The  close  proximity  of  the  United  States  makes  it  very 
desirable  that  a  transfer  of  the  territory  should  take  place 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  In  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Canadian  Government,  to  which  I  have  before 
referred,  they  say  : — 

The  close  relations  springing  up  between  the  Red  River  settlers  and  the 
Americans  of  Pembina  and  St.  Paul,  and  the  removal  of  many  Americans  into  the 
territory,  render  it  doubly  expedient  that  a  settled  government  under  the  British 
Crown  should  be  established  in  the  country  at  an  early  date. 

Next  adjoining  the  southern  frontier  of  Rupert's  Land  lie 
the  States  of  Minnesota,  Dakota,  and  Montana,  divided  from 
it   by  only  an  imaginary  line,  across  which  the  straggling 

'  See  the  evidence  of  Mr.  McDaw-      printed    iii    the   Blue    Book  ;    Report 
son  before  a  select  committee   of  the      Hudson's  Bay  Company,  1857.  ' 

Canadian   House    of    Representatives, 


342  jESSAVS   critical  AND  NARRATIVE. 

waves  of  the  advancing  tide  of  population  will  slowly  but 
surely  flow.  It  may  be  said,  and  with  truth,  that  these  States 
are  as  yet  only  partially  occupied,  and  that  many  years  must 
elapse  before  they  are  filled  with  a  population  which  would 
require  any  expansion  of  space  towards  the  north.  But  we 
must  bear  in  mind  an  important  fact.  It  is  quite  true,  as  a 
general  rule,  that  population  does  not  migrate  to  seek  distant 
lands  for  cultivation,  so  long  as  good  land  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity can  be  had  near  at  hand  ;  but  there  are  numbers  of  rest- 
less spirits  in  America  whose  vocation  may  be  said  to  be  to 
act  as  the  vanguard  of  material  progress.  They  dislike  a 
settled  life  ;  and  when  they  have  made  a  clearing  in  the  wil- 
derness, and  begun  to  cultivate  the  soil,  they  throw  down  the 
spade  for  the  axe,  and,  seized  with  an  irresistible  impulse, 
travel  onwards. 

I  hear  the  tread  of  pioneers 

Of  nations  yet  to  be  ; 
The  first  low  wash  of  waves  where  soon 

Shall  roll  a  human  sea. 

It  is  thus  that,  before  Iowa  was  settled,  Minnesota  was  in- 
vaded ;  and,  although  that  State  is  only  scantily  peopled, 
Dakota  and  Montana  have  since  been  added  to  the  United 
States. 

In  1864  the  inhabitants  of  the  Red  River  Settlement  were 
so  alarmed  by  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  Sioux,  that  they 
strongly  pressed  Mr.  Dallas,  the  Governor  of  Rupert's  Land, 
to  invite  American  troops  across  the  frontier  ;  and  certainly, 
to  use  the  expression  of  the  late  Sir  Edmund  Head,  who  was 
Governor  of  the  Company  in  England,  the  fact  of  the  Queen's 
subjects  *  looking  for  protection  to  the  United  States,  was  one 
of  grave  importance  with  reference  to  the  nationality  of  the 
settlement  and  the  territory.' 

In  1867  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  Minister  here,  applied 
on  behalf  of  his  Government  to  the  Foreign  Secretary, 
Lord  Stanley,  to  know  whether  arrangements  could  be 
made  for  allowing  the  troops  of  the  United  States  to  follow 
Indians  who  infested  the  emigrant  road  in  Dakota,  and 
committed  every  kind  of  atrocity,  into  the  British  territory, 
where  they  took  refuge.  It  seems  to  be  rather  doubtful 
whether  this  particular  territory  belongs  to  the  Company  or 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY.    343 

the  Crown,  as  there  is  a  narrow  belt  of  land  running  to  the 
north  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel — the  boundary  line — which 
is  supposed  to  be  watered  by  streams  which  do  not  find  their 
way  into  Hudson's  Bay,  and  if  so,  this  was  not  included  in 
the  grant  made  by  the  original  charter  to  the  Company. 

Besides,  gold  has  been  discovered  in  the  Saskatchewan 
region  ;  and  in  a  pamphlet  published  in  America  in  1866,  and 
addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  the  following  significant  passage  occurs  : — 

Rumours  of  gulches  and  ledges  in  the  Saskatchewan  district,  yielding  even 
greater  prizes  to  the  prospector,  are  already  rife,  and  will  soon  precipitate  'a 
strong,  active,  and  enterprising  people  '  into  the  spacious  void.  What  is  called 
the  Americanisation  of  the  Red  River  Settlement  has  been  slow  although  sure, 
since  the  era  of  steam  navigation,  but  this  Americanisation  of  Saskatchewan  will 
rush  suddenly  and  soon  from  the  camps  of  treasure -seekers  in  Montana. 

I  will  now  say  a  few  words  on  the  constitution  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Company.  In  England  it  consists  of  a  governor 
— Prince  Rupert's  chair  at  present  is  occupied  by  Sir  Stafford 
Northcote — and  a  body  of  directors,  who  represent  the  share- 
holders. In  Rupert's  Land  there  is  an  acting  governor,  who 
is  assisted  by  a  council  composed  of  the  chief  factors,  sixteen 
in  number,  and  sometimes  of  chief  traders,  and  by  a  recorder, 
who  was  first  appointed  in  1839.  The  chief  factors  are  not 
paid  by  salaries,  but  are  admitted  into  a  sort  of  partnership 
with  the  Company,  on  the  following  principle  :  the  profits  are 
divided  into  one  hundred  shares,  of  which  forty  are  allotted 
amongst  the  officers  in  the  territory  in  certain  specified  pro- 
portions. This  forty  per  cent,  is  debited  to  the  fur  trade,  and 
is,  of  course,  so  much  deducted  from  the  fund  available  for 
dividend  to  the  shareholders.  It  is,  in  fact,  part  of  the 
working  expenses  of  the  concern,  which  must  be  paid  before 
the  net  profits  can  be  ascertained.  Besides  the  chief  factors, 
there  are  twenty-nine  chief  traders,  and  the  number  of  ser- 
vants in  permanent  employment  is  about  1,200. 

The  number  of  forts  or  posts  in  Rupert's  Land  is  sixty- 
six.  At  the  north  end  of  Lake  Winnipeg  is  the  fort  called 
Norway  House,  which  is  the  central  station  of  the  upper 
country.  Here  brigades  of  boats  receive  annually  their  sup- 
plies for  the  different  posts,  and  proceed  on  their  winding 
voyages  along  rivers  and  lakes,  bringing  back  furs  which  are 
then  conveyed  to  York  Factory,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  and  shipped 


344         ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  England.  At  Norway  House  also  there  is  annually  a 
meeting  of  the  factors  who  have  charge  of  the  different  posts, 
and  who  there  consult  together  on  the  interests  of  the  trade. 

The  currency  of  the  country  is  the  beaver  skin,  as 
tobacco  used  to  be  in  Virginia.  It  is  the  unit  of  value  accord- 
ing to  which  all  barter  is  computed.  Thus,  ten  musk  rats  go 
to  one  beaver,  and  a  beaver  is  equal  to  a  blanket.  Four  or 
five  beavers  go  to  a  silver  fox,  and  a  certain  number  of  silver 
fox-skins  are  given  for  a  gun.  The  way  in  which  the  trade  is 
carried  on  is  this.  When  an  Indian  hunter  arrives  at  one  of 
the  posts  with  a  bundle  of  furs,  he  proceeds  to  a  room,  where 
the  superintendent  separates  the  furs  into  lots,  and,  after 
adding  up  the  amount,  delivers  to  him  a  number  of  little 
pieces  of  wood,  which  indicate  the  number  of  beaver  skins  to 
which  his  furs  are  equal  in  value.  The  Indian  then  goes  to 
the  store-room,  which  contains  the  articles  he  wants,  such  as 
blankets,  coats,  guns,  powder-horns,  and  knives.  Each  of 
these  has  a  fixed  and  known  value  in  beaver-skins,  represented 
by  the  pieces  of  wood,  and  the  hunter  pays  them  away  just 
as  if  they  were  cash  for  whatever  article  he  fancies.  At  Red 
River,  however,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  issue  notes  to 
the  extent  of  9,000/.  or  10,000/.,  which  act  as  a  circulating 
medium  in  the  colony. 

When  the  furs  arrive  in  England  they  are  stored  in  the 
Company's  warehouses  in  Lime  Street — part  of  the  buildings 
of  the  old  East  India  Company — and  they  are  sold  in  lots  by 
auction,  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  There,  in  the  different 
rooms  may  be  seen  vast  piles  of  skins  of  bears,  foxes,  wolves, 
wolverines,  martens,  minks,  otters,  and  even  skunks — which 
last  are  used  on  the  Continent  (where,  I  suppose,  the  olfactory 
nerves  are  not  so  sensitive  as  ours),  for  the  lining  of  cloaks. 
A  story  is  told  of  the  late  Prince  Gortchakoff,  that  when  he 
was  in  England  a  short  time  before  the  Crimean  war,  he  went 
to  see  a  fox-chase,  and  as  the  hounds  approached  they 
suddenly  made  a  rush  at  him  and  gave  tongue  loudly.  They 
were  with  difficulty  whipped  off  by  the  huntsman,  and  it 
turned  out  that  the  Prince  was  wearing  a  cloak  lined  with  the 
skins  of  foxes,  so  that  the  dogs  naturally  attacked  him.  If 
they  had  pulled  him  down,  the  Russians  might  never  have 


HISTOR  V  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BA  Y  COMPANY.    345 

crossed  the  Pruth,  and  the  world  would  not  have  heard  of  the 
siege  of  Sebastopol ! 

It  seems  paradoxical  that  the  highest  prices  in  proportion 
to  their  value  should  be  given  for  the  inferior  furs.  But  the 
reason  is  this.  If  the  Company  were  to  pay  for  the  finer  furs 
at  the  same  rate  as  they  pay  for  the  less  valuable  ones,  the 
Indians  would  hunt  up  the  animals  that  bear  the  best  furs 
and  destroy  the  race,  as  has,  in  fact,  been  the  case  along  the. 
southern  frontier.  The  silver  fox  and  the  beaver  would  soon 
disappear,  and  only  musk  rats,  and  raccoons,  and  martens  be 
left.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  collec- 
tion of  furs  has  much  increased,  but  the  Company  pay  the 
Indians  more  for  them,  and  thus  there  is  a  larger  trade  in 
them  than  ever,  but  with  less  profit.  The  valuable  trade  is  in 
the  remote  and  colder  districts,  where,  there  being  no  inter- 
ference by  the  efi"orts  of  civilisation,  the  animals  are  preserved 
like  game  in  England,  and  the  Indians  are  encouraged  to 
kill  them  only  when  the  fur  is  in  season,  and  to  spare  the 
females  when  they  are  breeding.  But  if  the  trade  were 
thrown  open,  it  is  obvious  that  wanton  destruction  would 
ensue,  and  the  supply  of  furs  would  soon  cease  to  exist,  for  it 
would  be  the  interest  of  every  trader  to  secure  as  much  in  as 
short  a  time  as  possible,  and,  to  use  a  homely  phrase,  the 
goose  would  be  killed  to  get  the  ^%^. 

I  have  now  endeavoured  to  give  an  account  of  the  con- 
stitution and  history  of  the  last  of  the  great  proprietary 
companies  of  England,  to  whom  a  kind  of  delegated 
sovereignty  was  granted  by  the  Crown.  It  was  by  some  of 
these  that  distant  colonies  were  founded,  and  one,  the  most 
powerful  of  them  all,  established  our  empire  in  the  East,  and 
held  the  sceptre  of  the  Great  Mogul.  But  they  have  passed 
away — 

fuit  Ilium  et  ingens 
Gloria  Teucrorum — • 

and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  will  be  no  exception  to  the 
rule.  It  may  continue  to  exist  as  a  Trading  Company,  but  as 
a  Territorial  Power  it  must  make  up  its  mind  to  fold  its 
(buffalo)  robes  around  it,  and  die  with  dignity. 


346         ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 


A    VISIT   TO  RUSSIA    AND    THE  GREAT  FAIR 
OF  Niym  NOVOGOROD. 

I  LEFT  London,  with  my  brother  Douglas,  on  the  8th  of 
August,  1864,  to  visit  Russia,  intending  to  make  Nijni  Novo- 
gorod,  on  the  banks  of  the  Volga,  the  limit  of  our  journey. 

We  travelled  by  way  of  Calais,  Cologne,  Hanover,  and 
Magdeburg,  to  Berlin.  Here  we  stayed  one  day,  and  left  it 
at  night  by  the  railway  for  Warsaw. 

As  the  day  dawned,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  really  pretty 
country — flat  of  course — but  agreeably  diversified  with  wood, 
consisting  chiefly  of  fir  and  birch  trees,  extending  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach  on  both  sides.  But  there  was  little  mono- 
tony, as  the  forests  through  which  we  rapidly  passed  were 
every  now  and  then  broken  by  large  patches  of  pasture  or 
arable  land  ;  and  in  default  of  these  there  were  far-stretching 
glades,  reminding  one  of  an  English  park  on  a  colossal  scale. 

I  was  impatient  to  find  myself  veritably  in  Russia,  and 
was  speculating  as  to  the  kind  of  frontier  town  we  should  see, 
with  visions  before  my  mind's  eye  of  bastions  and  walls 
bristling  with  cannon,  when,  soon  after  entering  a  fir  forest, 
the  train  began  to  slacken  its  speed,  and,  gliding  into  an  en- 
closure of  about  two  acres  in  extent,  which  was  surrounded 
by  a  strong  wooden  palisade,  we  stopped  at  a  very  rustic- 
looking  station  called  Ocloczyn  ;  and  a  guard  of  Russian 
soldiers,  drawn  up  in  stiff  array  on  the  platform,  told  us 
unmistakably  that  we  were  at  last  in  the  land  of  the  Czar. 
Here,  of  course,  we  had  to  get  out  of  our  carriage  to  have  our 
luggage  overhauled  and  passports  examined.  Nothing  could 
be  more  civil  than  the  conduct  of  the  officials.  I  had  had 
sundry  misgivings  as  to  the  nature  of  the  ordeal  through 
which  we  should  have  to  pass — owing,  perhaps,  in  part  to  what  a 


VISIT  TO   RUSSIA  AND    THE   GREAT  FAIR.     347 

Russian  nobleman  had  told  me,  before  I  left  London,  as  to 
what  had  once  happened  to  himself  on  his  return  from  England 
to  Russia.  His  valet  had  wrapped  the  boots  of  his  master  in 
some  old  numbers  of  '  The  Times ' ;  and  to  prevent  the  surrep- 
titious introduction  in  this  fashion  of  such  a  revolutionary 
journal  into  Russia,  the  boots  were  carefully  stripped  of  their 
coverings,  and  the  obnoxious  paper  was  confiscated. 

While  we  were  waiting  for  our  turn  to  have  our  passports 
examined,  a  smart-looking  Russian  officer  in  uniform  came 
up  to  me,  and  said,  '  Votre  nom.  Monsieur,  s'il  vous  plait  ? ' 
I  told  him,  and  he  then  said  in  French,  '  I  have  expected  you 
for  several  days.     You    are    rather   late.'     '  Indeed  1 '    I  an- 
swered ;  '  do  you  know  me  .? '     '  Oh,  no  ! '  he  replied,  '  but  I 
have  had    a  letter  about  you.'     '  From   London } '  I  asked. 
'  No,'  he  said,  '  from  Warsaw.'     I  found  his  only  object  was  to 
be  of  use  to  us ;    and  I  certainly  felt  much  indebted  to  the 
person,  whoever  he  was,  who  was  kind  enough  to  inform  this 
most  courteous  officer  of  our  intended  visit.     He  took  care 
that  we  should  have  no  trouble  with  the  examination  of  our 
portmanteaus,  which  was  only  formal,  and  we  got  our  pass- 
ports handed  to  us  almost  immediately.    Two  of  our  travelling 
companions  were   not  so  fortunate,  for  on  stepping  out  of 
their  carriage  they  were  immediately  arrested  and   marched 
off  by  the  guard.     The  officer  who  effected  the  arrest  was  a 
youth  of  eighteen,  who  spoke  English  tolerably  well,  having 
learnt  it,  as  he  told  us,  from  his  sister's  governess,  although, 
we  were,  I  believe,  the  first  English  travellers  with  whom  he 
had  had  the  opportunity  of  conversing.     I   asked  him  the 
reason  of  the  arrests,  but  he  said  he  knew  no  more  than  that 
he  had  received  a  telegram  and  obeyed  its  orders.     He  after- 
wards travelled  with  us  for  a  short  distance,  and  told  us  that 
the  Emperor  was  expected  soon  at  one  of  his  summer  palaces, 
which  we  saw  as  w^e  passed,  when  he  was  to  receive  his  com- 
mission as  an  ensign  (he  was  then  only  in  the  gendarmerie) 
for  a  little  exploit  he  had  just  performed.     This  consisted  in 
surprising  a  party  of  insurgent   Poles  at  a  country  house   in 
the  neighbourhood,  who  took  to  flight,  but  were  fired   upon 
by  the  Russians  under  the  boy's  command,  and  several  of 
them  were  killed. 

We  had  to  wait  nearly  two  hours  at  this  forest  station,  but 


348         ^^^-^KS"  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  novelty  of  the  scene  made  the  time  pass  quickly.  Here  I 
first  saw  the  inevitable  somovar,  or  Russian  tea-urn,  which 
afterwards  became  so  familiar  to  me,  for  I  suppose  there  is 
hardly  a  house  in  Russia — I  am  not  speaking  of  the  hovels  and 
huts — where  it  is  not  to  be  found.  And  here  I  first  drank, 
not  a  cup,  but  a  glass  of  Russian  tea,  tchai,  with  a  slice  of 
lemon  in  it,  instead  of  milk — and  beyond  doubt  it  was  excel- 
lent. People  tell  you  that  the  tea  in  Russia  is  better  than  in 
England,  because  it  is  brought  overland,  and  there  is  some- 
thing injurious  to  its  flavour  in  a  sea  voyage  ;  but  I  believe 
that  this  is  nonsense,  and  that  the  real  reason  is,  that  the  best 
kind  of  tea  is  grown  on  the  western  frontiers  of  China — that 
is,  on  the  side  nearest  to  Russia — and  so  most  readily  finds 
its  way  there.  Some  open  third-class  carriages  were  attached 
to  our  train,  and  these  were  here  filled  by  a  crowd  of  some  of 
the  most  uncouth-looking  peasants  it  was  ever  my  fate  to 
look  upon.  They  were  like  a  bad  lot  of  low  Irish  mimis  their 
rags,  for  I  must  do  them  the  justice  to  say  that  their  clothes, 
though  coarse  in  the  extreme,  had  no  solution  of  continuity. 
Their  hair  fell  over  their  faces  just  like  thatch,  which  it  resem- 
bled not  a  little  in  colour ;  and  their  high  check-bones, 
broad  upper  part  of  the  face,  low  noses,  and  'foreheads 
villanous  low,'  make  me  fancy  that  they  must  be  a  party  of 
Kalmuck  Tartars. 

There  is  little  worth  mentioning  as  likely  to  interest  the 
reader  in  the  journey  between  Ocloczyn  and  Warsaw.  The 
character  of  the  country  is  much  the  same  throughout,  but  it 
was  far  prettier  than  I  had  expected  or  imagined.  Alternate 
forests  of  fir  and  birch,  and  birch  and  fir,  broken  by  grassy 
interludes,  with  here  and  there  sheets  of  water  and  an  undula- 
ting swell  in  the  ground,  were  the  chief  features  of  the  scenery. 
These  forests,  however,  bore  significant  token  of  the  Polish 
insurrection.  On  each  side  of  the  railway  the  trees  had  been 
cleared  away  to  the  distance  of  a  musket-shot,  for  trains  had 
frequently  been  fired  upon  where  the  thick  forest  afforded 
shelter  to  the  assailants.  It  was  evident  that  the  Polish  pea- 
santry had  no  Enfield  or  Whitworth  rifles,  as  the  breadth  of 
the  space  that  was  cleared  was  barely  equal  to  the  range  of  a 
common  smooth-bore  musket.  I  was  struck  everywhere  in 
Russia  by  the  slender  shape  of  the  trees.     Ti7nber,  in  our 


VISIT   TO  RUSSIA  AND    THE    GREAT  FAIR.     349 

sense  of  the  word,  I  saw  none  ;  but  tall,  slim,  graceful  stems, 
with  the  remarkable  peculiarity  that  no  branches  were  thrown 
out  lower  than  half  way  up  the  trunk  of  the  tree. 

The  first  view  of  Warsaw  from  the  south  is  very  disap- 
pointing.    The  city  lies    on  the  south  or  left  bank   of  the 
Vistula,  and  as  that  bank  rises  much  higher  than  the  other, 
and    the   plateau   extends   at   the   same   level   far   into   the 
interior,  you  lose  the  terrace  view  which  meets  the  eye  of  the 
spectator  from  the  opposite  bank.     The  immediate  approach 
is  dull  and  dirty.     The  chief  objects  are  a  great  number  of 
coal-yards  ;  but  here  and  there  were  the  ruins  of  fortifications, 
the  scene  of  the  sanguinary  struggle  in  1832.     On  reaching 
the  station  we  were  not  allowed  to  leave  our  carriages  until 
we  had  handed  out  our  passports,  and  after  these  had  been 
cursorily  examined  we  were  permitted  to  get  out,  and  told  to 
go  into  a  large  room  where  they  would  be  delivered  to  us 
after  our  luggage  had  been  overhauled.     Never  shall  I  forget 
the  scene  of  confusion  in  that  room.     It  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing by  a  struggling  crowd  of  people  waiting  to  get  their 
passports,  and  I  began  to  despair  of  ever  seeing  ours  again. 
At  last  the  tedious  ceremony  was  over,  and,  having  secured  a 
wretched   carriage,  we  drove  to  the   Hotel  d'Angleterre,  or 
Aiigliski,  as  it  is  called  in  Poland  and  Russia.     We  had  been 
advised  by  our  Russian  officer  friend,  who  was  so  polite  to  us 
at    Ocloczyn,  to  go  to  the  Hotel  de  I'Europe,  but,  in  the 
course  of  our  journey,  others  had  recommended  the  Hotel 
d'Angleterre.     And  as  it  turned  out,  it  was  well  that  we  so 
decided,  for,  owing   to  a  dastardly  murder  that   had    been 
committed  recently  in  the  Hotel  de  I'Europe,  that  hotel  had 
been  closed  for  a  time,  and  was  now  only  just  opened  for  the 
exclusive  reception  of  Russian  officers.    They  must  have  been 
very  numerous  to  fill  it,  for  it  is  of  enormous  size,  and  seemed 
to  occupy  the  whole  side  of  a  street.    The  Hotel  d'Angleterre 
is  in  the  Novi  Soyat,  a  dull  street,  and  has  a  very  forbidding 
exterior.     Nor  was  the  inside  inviting.     However,  there  is  a 
tolerably   good    'coffee-room,'    and    the   bed-rooms,    though 
furnished  in  the  plainest  manner,  were  tolerably  clean.    And 
here  I  may  mention  that  not  once  during  my  stay  in  Russia 
was  I  annoj-ed  by  any  of  those  unmentionable  insects  which 
contribute  so  much  to  the  discomfort  of  the  traveller.     I  have 


350         £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

been  far  less  fortunate  in  Italy  and  Germany,  or  even  in 
England.  The  hotels  are  perhaps  the  least  in  keeping  with 
the  wealth  and  luxury  which  prevail  amongst  the  upper 
classes  ;  but,  although  shabby  in  appearance,  I  found  them 
generally  clean  and  comfortable.  I  speak,  however,  of  my 
own  experience  only,  for  some  of  the  friends  whom  I  met 
loudly  complained  that  they  had  been  almost  devoured  by 
nocturnal  marauders  of  the  worst  description. 

We  dined  exceedingly  well  in  the  salle  a  manger,  where  at 
the  table  next  to  us  sat  the  fattest  man  I  think  I  ever  saw. 
He  was  a  mountain  of  flesh,  and  one  upon  whom  Banting 
would  have  yearned  to  operate.  I  mention  '  our  fat  friend,' 
however,  merely  as  a  remarkable  contrast  to  the  general 
appearance  of  the  people  in  Russia  and  Poland.  The  men 
are  tall  and  well  made,  with  fresh  complexions,  and  seldom 
even  stout.  I  wish  I  could  say  that  the  women  are  good- 
looking,  but  truth  compels  me  to  state  that  the  reverse  is  the 
fact :  of  course  I  am  not  speaking  of  the  aristocracy,  amongst 
whom  many  of  the  fair  sex,  I  believe,  may  vie  with  the 
fairest  in  any  country  of  Europe  ;  but  these  I  had  little  or  no 
opportunity  of  seeing,  as  the  great  towns  of  St.  Petersburg 
and  Moscow  are,  in  the  autumn,  like  London,  comparatively 
deserted  by  the  higher  classes  ;  but,  in  the  streets  and  the 
shops,  the  women  one  meets  with  are,  beyond  controversy, 
plain — not  to  use  a  stronger  term. 

On  the  evening  of  my  arrival  in  Warsaw  a  laughable 
adventure  befel  me,  which  may  be  worth  mentioning  as  it 
illustrates  the  present  condition  of  that  unfortunate  city. 
When  it  grew  dark  I  sallied  out  of  the  hotel  for  a  stroll,  and 
as  I  walked  along  the  streets  I  observed  that  everybody  I 
met,  whether  man,  woman,  or  child,  carried  in  his  or  her 
hand  a  lighted  lantern.  I  began  to  have  suspicions  that  I 
was  not  en  regie,  when  just  as  I  reached  the  o^Qn  piatz  where 
the  theatre  stands,  and  opposite  to  it  the  blackened  walls  of 
the  Hotel  de  Ville,  burnt  down  in  1863  by  an  incendiary  fire, 
I  was  stopped  by  a  Russian  soldier,  who,  although  speaking 
in  an  unknown  tongue,  made  me  clearly  understand  that  I 
was  guilty  of  the  offence  of  not  carrying  a  lantern.  I  thought 
the  best  plan  would  be  to  treat  the  matter  as  a  joke,  and, 
shaking   him  by  the  hand,  I   said,    '  Sprechen   sie  Deutsch, 


VISIT   TO  RUSSIA    AND    THE  GREAT  FAIR.     351 

mein  Frcund  ? ' — '  Nitt !  Nitt ! '  was  the  reply.  '  Parlez-vous 
Frangais  ? ' — '  Nitt !  Nitt  ! '  '  Do  you  speak  English  ? ' — 
•  Nitt !  Nitt  ! '  I  then  told  him  in  English  that  I  was  not  a 
Polish  conspirator,  but  an  Englishman,  with  a  emphasis  on 
the  word.  He  brightened  up  at  this,  and  asked,  '  Angliski  .? ' 
I  said,  '  Da  !  Da  ! '  which  means  '  Yes  !  yes  ! ' — when  the 
good-humoured  fellow,  thinking  no  doubt  that  Englishmen 
did  not  carry  daggers  or  pistols  to  assassinate  in  the  dark, 
patted  me  on  the  shoulder,  and  let  me  go,  saying  something 
like  '  BroscJi !  Brosch  ! '  which  I  interpreted  to  mean  *  Go 
on  ! '  and  I  immediately  decamped.  It  was,  however,  out  of 
the  frying-pan  into  the  fire  ;  for  almost  immediately  after- 
wards I  met  two  other  soldiers,  who  had  already  under  arrest 
a  lanternless  individual  like  myself;  and  although  I  tried  the 
same  manoeuvre  with  them,  they  were  not  to  be  so  easily 
cajoled.  I  was  ordered  to  accompany  one  of  them,  who 
made  me  march  by  his  side  for  fully  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
until  we  came  to  a  kind  of  courtyard  at  the  bottom  of  which 
was  a  Russian  guard-house,  where  I  was  ushered  into  a 
dimly  lighted  room,  and  ordered  to  give  an  account  of  myself. 
Luckily  I  found  there  an  officer  who  spoke  German,  and  to 
him  I  explained  how  I  had  got  into  the  scrape  owing  to  my 
ignorance  of  the  law  which  prohibited  anybody  from  appear- 
in  the  streets  of  Warsaw  after  nightfall  without  a  lighted 
lantern  in  his  hand.  The  reason  of  this  was  the  numerous 
assassinations  that  had  occurred — for,  as  is  well  known, 
murder  was  resorted  to  by  the  agents  of  the  National  Com- 
mittee without  scruple  or  remorse.  It  was,  in  fact,  not  safe  to 
traverse  a  dark  spot,  and  women,  or  at  all  events  men  dressed 
in  women's  clothes,  were  quite  ready  to  use  the  poniard  or 
the  pistol  at  the  bidding  of  an  invisible  and  mysterious 
authority.  I  showed  the  officer  my  letters  of  introduction  to 
the  Governor  of  Warsaw,  Comte  de  Berg,  and  this  satisfied 
him  and  the  rest  that  I  was  neither  a  Pole  nor  a  conspirator. 
They  made  me  write  down  my  name  and  address,  and  then 
told  me  I  might  go  ;  but  I  declined  to  do  this  unless  they 
would  furnish  me  with  a  lantern,  for  I  did  not  know  my  way 
in  the  dark,  and  besides  I  should  be  infallibly  again  arrested 
if  I  appeared  in  the  streets  without  that  safe-conduct.  They 
had,  however,  no  lantern  to  spare,  and,  as  I  positively  refused 


352  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  stir  unless  they  provided  me  with  one,  my  German- 
speaking  friend  good-naturedly  said  that  he  would  buckle  on 
his  sword  and  accompany  me  to  my  hotel,  which  he  did  ; 
and  I  had  no  further  trouble  or  annoyance — Sic  me  servavit 
Apollo. 

There  are  few  '  lions '  at  Warsaw.  The  only  buildings  of 
any  great  size  are  the  Castle  and  the  Citadel.  The  Castle  is  a 
large,  irregular,  feudal-looking  fortress  situated  on  the  slope  of 
the  left  bank  of  the  Vistula.  It  is  called  Zamek,  and  here  the 
Governor  or  Viceroy  of  Poland  resides.  The  chief  interest  is 
in  the  appearance  of  Warsaw  itself — a  melancholy  city — the 
scene  of  so  many  sorrows  and  tremendous  calamities.  It  is 
still  under  martial  law,  and  every  access  to  it  is  so  strictly 
guarded  that  I  do  not  think  a  mouse  could  creep  into  it  unless 
provided  with  a  passport.  The  chief  movement  in  the  streets 
was  the  tramp  of  soldiery,  and  at  short  intervals  mounted 
Cossacks  on  their  small  active  horses  kept  watch  and  ward. 
There  was  none  of  the  life  and  bustle  of  a  large  town.  The 
shops  are  mean  and  poor,  and  we  saw  nothing  to  tempt  the 
purchaser.  There  was  an  inexpressible  air  of  tristesse  over 
the  whole  place.  Not  long  ago  it  was  the  mark  of  patriotism 
for  the  Poles,  both  men  and  women,  to  wear  black  when  they 
appeared  in  public  ;  but  this  naturally  gave  offence  to  the 
Russian  authorities,  and  the  sign  of  national  mourning  was 
discontinued.  It  did  not,  however,  require  any  external  symbol 
to  show  how  profoundly  depressed  was  the  feeling  of  the 
population.  The  only  symptom  of  business-like  activity  that 
I  saw  was  in  a  quarter  where  the  Jews  '  most  do  congregate.' 
It  seemed  like  a  Stock-exchange  in  the  open  air ;  and  here 
there  was  a  swarm  of  the  sons  of  Israel,  dressed  in  long  dirty 
cloth  pelisses,  with  grizzly  beards,  uncombed  hair,  and  un- 
washed faces.  We  had  occasion  to  go  amongst  them  to  get 
some  Polish  notes  exchanged  for  gold,  as  the  banks  happened 
at  the  moment  to  be  shut. 

I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  previously  acquainted  with 
Colonel  Stanton,  R.E.,  who  is  the  British  Consul  at  Warsaw, 
and  we  called  on  him  at  his  residence  in  the  Ujazlov,  a  long 
avenue  bordered  with  lime  and  chesnut  trees,  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  town,  and  the  fashionable  promenade  at  Warsaw.  I 
cannot  thank  him  and  Mrs.  Stanton  enough  for  all  the  atten- 


VISIT  TO   RUSSIA  AND   THE   GREAT  FAIR.     353 

tion  and  hospitality  which  they  showed  us  during  our  stay. 
Under  his  care  we  explored  the  city,  and  saw  all  that  was 
worth  seeing,  which  was  not  much.  He  drove  us  in  his 
wagonette,  drawn  by  two  beautiful  greys,  with  their  ringing 
bells,  to  the  chateau  of  Count  Potogki  (pronounced  Potoski), 
Avhich  is  situated  about  four  miles  from  Warsaw,  and  is  a 
place  of  historical  interest,  having  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Sobieski  family.  Here  the  great  John  Sobieski,  the  deliverer 
of  Vienna  from  the  Turks,  and  one  of  the  best  kings  and 
greatest  warriors  whom  Poland  has  produced,  passed  his 
latter  days  in  retirement,  and  died.  The  road  leading  to  it 
which  we  took  (not  the  cJiausscc  or  principal  road,  which  is 
more  circuitous)  was  simply  a  sandy  track  which  in  wet  weather 
must  be  almost  impassable,  and  even  now  there  were  places 
that  would  have  horrified  an  English  coachman,  and  severely 
tested  the  strength  of  the  springs  of  the  carriage,  which  had  been 
built  in  England  expressly  for  such  excursions.  The  Villa 
Potoski  had  a  most  deserted  look.  The  gardens  were  overgrown 
with  weeds,  the  shrubs  were  unpruned,  and  the  whole  place 
seemed  to  be  running  to  seed.  The  Count  and  Countess  were 
absent  in  Paris,  and  the  house  was  left  to  the  care  of  a  librarian 
and  a  few  domestics.  The  furniture  is  extremely  beautiful,  and 
there  are  many  valuable  works  of  art;  but  the  pictures  are 
chiefly  copies  with  a  few  poor  originals.  W'hat  interested  me 
most  was  the  library,  which  amongst  other  treasures  contains  a 
rich  collection  of  works  on  the  ancient  history  of  Poland. 

Close  to  the  villa  is  a  building  used  as  a  hospital,  which 
was  made  a  place  of  concealment  for  the  insurgents  during 
the  revolt.  There  was  a  report  that  some  of  them  had  been 
taken  and  hanged  there  the  day  before  we  visited  it,  but  on 
inquiry  this  turned  out  to  be  untrue.  Some  of  the  tenantry 
of  Count  Potocki  were  implicated  in  the  insurrection,  and 
since  my  return  to  England  I  have  been  informed  by  Colonel 
Stanton  that  a  fine  of  49,000  rubles,  equal  to  about  7,000/., 
has  been  imposed  upon  the  Count  in  consequence.  One  of 
the  most  arbitrary  measures  of  the  Russian  Government  with 
respect  to  Poland  since  the  suppression  of  the  revolt  has  been 
the  conversion  of  the  tenancies  of  the  peasants  into  freeholds 
giving  only  a  nominal  compensation  to  the  landlord.  In  other 
words,  it  has  confiscated  their  property,  and  made  a  present 

A  A 


354  ESSAYS    CRITICAL  AND   NARRATIVE. 

of  it  to  the  labourers,  with  the  view,  no  doubt,  of  enhsting  the 
popular  feeling  if  possible  in  its  favour. 

And  here  it  may  be  interesting  to  mention  a  few  facts 
relating  to  the  secret  history  of  the  late  insurrection.  For  a 
long  time  its  movements  were  under  the  control  of  an  invisible 
and  mysterious  body  called  the  National  Committee,  which 
defied  the  utmost  efforts  of  the  Russian  police  to  discover  its 
place  of  meeting  or  the  names  of  its  members.  It  marked 
out  individuals  for  murder,  and  the  assassin  was  employed  to 
execute  its  decrees.  There  can  be  no  doubt -that  numbers 
took  part  in  the  insurrection  less  from  patriotism  than  terror, 
for  the  Pole  who  hesitated  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  insurgents 
was  as  much  exposed  to  the  vengeance  of  the  Committee  as 
the  Russians  themselves.  And  this  terror  was  intensified  by 
the  impenetrable  darkness  in  which  all  its  proceedings  were 
shrouded.  Its  edicts  and  proclamations  came  forth  like  the 
handwriting  on  the  wall  at  Belshazzar's  feast,  and  no  one 
could  tell  from  whom  they  emanated.  A  trial,  however,  took 
place  last  year  which  lifted  the  curtain  and  revealed  the 
names  of  some  of  the  actors  behind  the  scenes  in  the  revo- 
lutionary drama.  And,  strange  to  say,  a  great  many  of  them 
were  women.  The  persons  accused  were  Romnald  Traugutt, 
Ellen  Kirkor,  Emily  and  Barbara  Guzowski,  Alexandrine 
Wroblewska,  Krajewski,  Toczyski,  Zailinski,  Jezuranski,  and 
others  ;  and  the  following  facts  were  elicited,  or  at  all  events 
said  to  be  proved. 

Traugutt  was  a  landed  proprietor  of  the  district  of  Ko- 
brynsk,  in  the  government  of  Grodno,  and  formerly  com- 
manded a  band  of  insurgents  in  Lithuania.  He  came  to 
Warsaw,  under  the  assumed  name  of  Czarnecki,  as  the  agent 
of  a  commercial  house  at  Lemberg,  and  in  the  month  of 
October  1863,  became  the  secret  chief  of  the  National 
Government.  He  lodged  in  Smolna  Street,  in  Warsaw,  and 
the  emissaries  whom  he  employed  to  carry  papers  and  letters 
were  chiefly  women,  Avho  concealed  them  in  their  clothes.  The 
place  where  these  women  met  was  an  apothecary's  shop  in 
Marshal  Street,  and  a  gingerbread-baker's  shop  in  Capitalna 
Street.  The  leaders  of  the  movement  used  to  assemble  in  the 
auditory  of  the  chief  school  in  Warsaw,  by  the  connivance  of 
one  of  the  teachers  or   lecturers    named   Dybowski.     Ellen 


VISIT   TO   RUSSIA  AND  THE    GREAT  FAIR.     355 

Kirkor  kept  the  lodgings  where  Traugutt  stayed,  and  she  was 
accused  of  sending  out  and  receiving  revokitionary  correspon- 
dence. The  other  women  were  charged  with  a  similar 
offence.  All  were  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  death  ;  but 
only  five — Traugutt,  Krajewski,  Toczyski,  Zailinski,  and 
Jezuranski — were  hanged.  The  rest  were  sent  to  the  mines 
and  fortresses  of  Siberia  for  various  periods,  and  all  were 
deprived  of  their  civil  rights.  Each  of  the  women,  including 
the  daughter  of  the  gingerbread-baker,  was  styled  '  noble '  in 
the  actc  d' accusation. 

Having  letters  of  introduction  to  the  Governor  of  Warsaw, 
Comte  de  Berg,  we  called  upon  him,  and  were  most  cour- 
teously received.  He  is  more  than  seventy  years  of  age,  but 
looks  much  younger.  He  is  thin,  and  upright  as  a  dart,  with 
all  the  politeness  of  the  manners  of  the  vicille  cour.  He  asked 
us  to  dine  with  him  at  the  castle  the  next  day,  at  the  primi- 
tive hour  of  half-past  four,  and  on  going  there  we  found  the 
Count  and  Countess  and  a  small  party  assembled,  including 
Prince  Wittgenstein,  Count  Osten-Sacken,  and  others.  The 
room  in  which  we  were  received  opened  out  upon  a  terrace, 
half  of  which  was  converted  into  a  sort  of  divan,  or  tent,  by 
an  awning  of  gaily-striped  cloth  put  over  it.  It  was  prettily 
ornamented  with  shrubs  ;  and  here  coffee  and  cigars  were 
handed  after  dinner.  The  other  half  of  the  terrace  was  open 
to  the  sky,  and  commanded  an  excellent  view  of  the  Vistula 
and  country  to  the  north  in  front,  with  Warsaw  behind. 
While  I  was  standing  here  before  dinner,  and  talking  to  one 
of  the  guests,  a  servant  came  up  and  handed  a  tray  contain- 
ing liqueurs  and-  sardines  and  other  condiments,  which  it  is 
the  universal  custom  in  Russia  to  take  immediately  before 
dinner  on  the  same  principle,  I  suppose,  as  that  on  which  we 
sometimes  eat  oysters — namely,  to  give  an  appetite.  One  of 
the  best  things  serv^ed  in  this  way  is  caviare,  which  the  Rus- 
sians say  we  spoil  by  eating  it  at  the  end  of  dinner,  instead 
of  before.  It  certainly  gives  a  relish  to  the  appetite,  and  is, 
in  all  respects,  worthy  of  commendation.  This  ante-prandial 
goutte  is  called  zakouski. 

I  sat  next  to  the  Comte  de  Berg  at  dinner,  and  he  spoke 
in  the  frankest  manner  about  the  Polish  insurrection,  telling 
me  things  which  showed  evidently  that  there  are  two  sides  to 


356  ESSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  story.  The  dinner  and  wines  were  excellent,  and  nothing 
could  be  more  agreeable  than  the  demeanour  and  manner  of 
our  host.  He  is,  I  believe,  a  German  by  birth,  and  when  he 
found  that  I  understood  that  language,  he  immediately  adopted 
it,  evidently  preferring  it  to  French.  I  had  happened  to  say 
before  dinner  that  I  had  not  seen  the  Cathedral  ;  and  as  there 
is  a  private  passage  into  it  from  the  castle,  the  Count  pro- 
posed that  we  should  visit  it  at  the  end  of  the  repast.  He 
accordingly  led  the  way,  and  we  all  followed,  through  long 
corridors  and  vast  empty  rooms,  access  to  which  had  been 
blocked  up  while  the  insurrection  Avas  raging,  to  prevent  a 
surprise.  At  last  we  emerged  into  a  gallery  which  overlooked 
the  interior  of  the  Cathedral,  and  here  we  found  service  going 
on,  and  a  few  worshippers  at  their  devotions.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  the  pleasure  of  the  evening,  the  stern  reality  of  the 
situation  was  painfully  recalled  to  my  mind  by  the  fact  that, 
the  week  before,  three  of  the  Polish  insurgents  had  been 
hanged  on  the  glacis  of  the  citadel.  The  Countess  de  Berg, 
who  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  like  the  Poles,  had  in  the  mean- 
time gone  away  to  St.  Petersburg,  which  the  Count  told 
me  was  merely  like  a  journey  from  London  to  Brighton,  for- 
getting the  small  difterence  between  a  journey  of  fifty  and 
one  of  eight  hundred  miles. 

I  looked  with  some  interest  on  the  Palace  Zamoyski, 
where  an  attempt  was  made  a  short  time  ago  upon  the  life  of 
the  Count  by  the  explosion  of  a  bomb  as  he  and  his  suite  rode 
past.  It  is  a  plain  and  unpretending-looking  hotel,  with  a 
large  building  attached  to  it,  which  was  let  out  in  apartments, 
and  I  believe  shops,  producing  a  large  revenue  to  the  pro- 
prietor, Count  Zamoyski,  who  resides  in  Paris.  But  the  whole 
had  been  confiscated  by  the  Russian  Government,  and  was 
now  occupied  by  soldiers  like  a  barrack.  In  the  destruction 
of  property  that  took  place  in  the  first  outburst  of  the  fury  of 
the  soldiery,  the  chief  and  most  irreparable  loss  was  that  of 
some  valuable  manuscripts  relating  to  the  early  history  of 
Poland. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  melancholy  aspect  of  the  city,  and 
this  was  rather  enhanced  than  diminished  by  the  fact,  that  a 
great  deal  of  painting  and  whitewashing  was  going  on,  owing 
to  the  expected  arrival  of  the  Emperor,  who  was  to  open  the 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA  AND  THE  GREAT  FAIR.      357 

new  suspension  bridge  across  the  Vistula,  a  handsome  structure, 
with  open  lattice  work  at  the  sides,  then  nearly  finished. 
Warsaw  must  of  course  show  herself  in  holiday  attire,  and  as 
cheerful  as  possible,  in  the  presence  of  the  Czar  ;  but  it  seemed 
a  bitter  mockery  thus  to  put  bright  robes  upon  the  discrowned 
Queen,  and  force  a  smile  from  her  face,  while  her  heart  was 
devoured  by  sorrow.  It  reminded  me  of  the  story  of  what 
once  occurred  in  the  time  of  the  Empress  Catherine,  when 
she  was  about  to  make  a  progress  through  her  dominions,  and, 
in  order  that  she  might  be  pleased  by  the  sight  of  the  pros- 
perity of  her  subjects,  whole  villages  made  of  painted  canvas 
were  '  got  up '  for  the  occasion,  and  placed  at  intervals  along 
the  road  by  which  she  was  to  travel. 

We  went  to  the  theatre,  where  a  French  company  was 
performing;  and,  as  might  be  expected,  the  audience  was 
composed  almost  entirely  of  military.  The  pit  was  filled  with 
soldiers,  the  greatest  part  of  whom  must  have  been  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  language  spoken  by  the  actors,  and  little  able 
to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  play,  which  was  a  comedy. 

To  show  the  excessive  strictness  with  which  all  entrance 
into  the  city  is  watched,  I  may  mention  that  Colonel  Stanton, 
the  British  Consul,  being  provided  with  a  pass,  which  he 
imagined  was  an  opc?i  sesame  at  all  times,  went  one  day  with 
a  party  of  friends  to  a  picnic,  and,  returning  after  nightfall, 
was  stopped  at  the  barrier.  He  showed  his  paper,  duly 
signed  by  the  authorities  ;  and,  after  being  carefully  examined, 
it  was  returned  to  him,  with  the  remark,  that,  although  it  gave 
him  permission  to  go  out  of  the  city  at  all  times,  it  did  not 
give  him  permission  to  come  in  ;  and  the  soldiers  refused  to 
allow  him  to  pass  until  a  messenger  was  despatched  to  the 
proper  quarter,  and  an  order  was  brought  which  enabled  him 
and  his  friends  to  get  home  to  bed.  Of  course  it  was  a  mis- 
take, and  a  more  full  and  precise  permit  was  given  to  Colonel 
Stanton,  of  which,  while  we  were  in  his  company,  we  were 
able  to  avail  ourselves. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Vistula,  which  is  about  the 
breadth  of  the  Rhine  at  Coblenz,  or  perhaps  a  little  broader, 
is,  or  rather  I  ought  to  say  was,  a  suburb  of  Warsaw  called 
the  Praga.  It  formerly  contained  streets,  houses,  and  several 
churches,  but  it  is  now  a  scene  of  desolation ;  and  the  only 


358         £SSAVS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

building  of  any  size  or  importance  there  is  the  railway  station, 
the  terminus  of  the  line  that  connects  Warsaw  with  St.  Peters- 
burg. The  Praga  was  laid  in  ruins  by  Constantine  in  1832. 
By  far  the  best  view  of  Warsaw  is  from  this  spot.  The  city 
crowns  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  in  a  long  picturesque 
line,  flanked  on  the  extreme  west  by  the  formidable  citadel 
which  was  built  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas  ;  and  he  told  the 
Poles  that,  if  they  were  refractory,  the  guns  of  the  fortress 
would  lay  the  city  in  ashes. 

We  left  Warsaw  for  St.  Petersburg  by  the  railway  early  in 
the  morning.  Very  little  luggage  is  allowed  free  on  this  line 
(on  that  between  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  none),  and  we 
had  to  pay  rather  heavily  for  our  two  modest  portmanteaus. 
The  carriages  are  of  different  kinds,  but  all  seemed  to  be 
comfortable  and  well-arranged.  Some  of  them  are  like  ours  ; 
others  like  those  on  the  Lombardo-Venetian  line  in  Italy, 
long  saloons  with  open  compartments  at  the  sides,  each  hold- 
ing four  persons  ;  others  are  divided  into  several  compartments 
by  partitions  like  screens  which  do  not  reach  to  the  top  of  the 
carriage.  To  the  first-class  carriages  are  annexed  rooms  for 
the  accommodation  of  domestics  ;  and  if  you  like  to  take  a 
whole  compartment  for  yourself  and  family,  you  may  have 
beds  laid  down,  and  sleep  at  your  ease.  One  excellent 
arrangement,  which  ought  to  exist  on  our  own  railways,  is 
that  the  platform  of  the  station  is  always  on  a  level  with  the 
floor  of  the  carriage,  so  that  the  passenger  can  get  in  and  out 
without  the  risk,  as  with  us,  of  breaking  his  leg,  or  at  all 
events  bruising  it  while  trying  to  find  the  step.  It  renders 
also  accidents  which  happen  from  people  trying  to  get  in  or 
out  of  a  carriage  at  a  station,  while  the  train  is  in  motion, 
almost  impossible.  The  fuel  with  which  the  locomotives  are 
supplied  is  entirely  wood,  and  the  chimney  of  the  engine  is  in 
shape  like  an  inverted  bell.  Upon  the  important  question  of 
refreshments  on  a  long  journey,  I  can  speak  in  terms  of  un- 
qualified praise  of  the  Russian  railways.  The  best  buffets  no 
doubt  are  those  between  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  but  every- 
where they  are  good.  The  Russians  like  good  living,  and 
have  strong  appetites  ever  ready  to  do  justice  to  substantial 
food.  Soup,  hot  cutlets,  and  vegetables  are  always  ready  at 
the  refreshment  rooms  for  the  hungry  traveller ;  and  there  is 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA  AND  THE    GREAT  FAIR.  359 

a  delicious  kind  of  rissole  which  I  particularly  liked.  The 
choice  of  wines,  both  French  and  German,  with  liqueurs,  is 
abundant,  and  they  are  in  quart  and  pint  bottles  with  the 
price  marked  on  each.  It  was  impossible  not  to  contrast  all 
this  with  the  miserable  arrangements  at  Rugby,  Reading, 
Swindon,  and  other  English  stations  ;  where  stale  buns,  greasy 
sandwiches,  and  choking  pork  pies  form  the  chief  staple  of  the 
refreshments,  and  the  only  wine  you  can  get  is  Marsala  usurp- 
ing the  name  of  Sherry. 

On  our  journey  to  St.  Petersburg  we  crossed  the  Niemen 
and  the  Dwina,  and  passed  by  Wilna  and  Dwinaberg  or 
Djiinaberg.  The  scenery  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wilna,  to 
the  north,  is  really  picturesque  ;  with  wooded  valleys  enlivened 
by  streams,  and  very  different  from  what  I  had  expected  to 
find  in  Russia,  which  my  imagination  had  depicted  beforehand 
as  a  vast  dreary  plain  overspread  by  monotonous  forests. 
Wilna  was  the  principal  and  central  depot  for  the  magazines 
of  the  French  army  during  the  invasion  of  Russia  in  18 12. 
It  was  here  that  Napoleon  received  a  deputation  of  Poles 
demanding  from  him  the  restoration  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland. 
His  reply  was  evasive,  but  contained  sufficient  encouragement 
to  make  them  believe  that  such  was  his  intention,  and  in  a 
transport  of  enthusiasm  and  joy  the  Polish  nobles  proclaimed 
the  event,  and  celebrated  a  solemn  mass  in  the  Cathedral. 
Dwinaberg  and  the  surrounding  district  is  under  the  govern- 
ment of  General  Mouravieff,  who  has  the  reputation  of  being 
a  stern  and  severe  ruler.  It  is  fortified  on  all  sides,  and  the 
bridge  over  the  Dwina  is  defended  by  a  newly-built  tctc  du 
pout  of  great  strength.  At  every  station,  until  we  quitted 
Russian  Poland,  a  guard  of  soldiers  in  grey  great-coats  was 
drawn  up  on  the  platform,  and  each  man  looked  uglier  than 
his  comrade. 

There  is  nothing  farther  that  deserves  notice  on  the  route 
to  St.  Petersburg  until  the  traveller  approaches  the  capital 
itself  The  scenery  then  becomes  tamer  and  flatter  and 
uglier  than  at  any  other  part  of  the  journey,  and  one  can 
readily  believe  the  fact  that  the  city  occupies  the  site  of  what 
was  once  nothing  but  a  woody  swamp.  The  distant  domes 
and  spires  seem  to  rise  out  of  the  ground  like  an  exhalation, 
or  perhaps  more  like  a  mirage  in  the  desert.     We  had  written 


36o  BSSAVS    CRITICAL   AND    NARRATIVE. 

to  Miss  Benson,  who  keeps  the  well-known  Benson's  Hotel, 
on  the  English  Quay,  to  have  a  carnage  ready  for  us  at  the 
station  ;  and  we  were  thus  able  to  contemplate  with  calm  in- 
difference the  scene  of  indescribable  noise  and  confusion  there, 
arising  from  the  vociferous  importunities  of  the  droshky- 
drivers,  who  all  but  carried  us  off  by  force  in  their  struggles 
to  get  a  '  fare.'  We  drove  to  the  Hotel  Benson,  which  is, 
however,  not,  properly  speaking,  an  hotel,  but  a /rwi"/^;^,  where 
you  are  charged  so  much  a  day  for  board,  whether  you  take 
your  meals  there  or  not.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Neva,  but  rather  too  far  off  from  the  shops.  We 
found  it  tolerably  clean  and  tolerably  comfortable. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  give  more  than  a  very  general 
description  of  St.  Petersburg,  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  too 
well  known,  and  most  things  relating  to  it  can  be  found  in 
Murray's  Handbook  ;  and  in  the  next,  1  have  always  thought 
that  minute  accounts  of  places  or  scenery  are  tedious  and  un- 
interesting. 

What  struck  me  most  was  the  colossal  scale  of  everything 
■ — buildings,  streets,  and  squares.  The  Admiralty  cannot  be 
much  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  circuit,  and  it 
stands  with  its  back  to  the  Neva,  in  an  open  platz  of  immense 
size.  Right  opposite  to  it  runs  the  magnificent  street  called 
Nevskoi  Prospekt,  the  widest,  and  one  of  the  longest  in 
Europe.  It  is  about  twice  as  broad  as  Regent  Street,  and  in 
the  middle  are  two  lines  of  iron  rails,  along  which  the  omni- 
busses  run,  on  the  same  principle  that  Mr.  Train  tried  unsuc- 
cessfully to  introduce  in  London.  As  the  rails  are  level  with 
the  rest  of  the  ground,  not  the  slightest  inconvenience  is  felt 
by  the  other  traffic,  and  they  are  crossed  by  the  droshkies 
without  any  jolting  or  interruption.  The  houses  on  each  side 
of  the  street  look  low,  owing  to  its  immense  breadth,  and  they 
are  built  without  any  attempt  at  regularity,  either  in  height 
or  architecture.  The  shops  are  not  to  compare  in  gaiety  of 
appearance  with  the  shops  of  Regent  Street  or  the  Rue  de 
Rivoli,  and  their  contents  are  not  nearly  so  attractive.  In  the 
jewellers'  shops  most  of  the  ornaments  are  made  of  malachite, 
but  I  was  assured,  on  good  authority,  that  it  is  not  fashion- 
able, and  the  Russian  ladies  think  very  little  of  it,  as,  indeed, 
might  be  expected  in  a  country  where  massive  pillars  aud 


VISIT  TO    RUSSIA    AND  THE    GREAT  FAIR.  361 

doors  are  formed  of  the  same  material.  It  is  by  no  means 
cheap  at  St.  Petersburg  or  Moscow,  and  the  kind  most  prized 
is  a  pale  green  stone,  with  as  few  veins  or  marks  in  it  as 
possible. 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  liveliness  of  this  street  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  with  its  innumerable  carriages  dashing 
backwards  and  forwards,  from  the  humble  hired  droshky,  with 
its  (too  often)  wretched  horse  and  uncomfortable  seat,  to  the 
gay  private  droshky,  to  which  a  side  horse  is  attached,  can- 
tering along  with  its  neck  and  head  arched  outwards,  just  as 
we  may  suppose  the  tTrTros  iraprjopos  of  the  Homeric  chariot 
did.  The  drivers,  or  istvostcJiicks,  as  they  are  called,  are  all 
dressed  alike  in  a  long  flowing  pelisse,  with  an  embroidered 
girdle,  generally  very  dingy,  and  a  high  four-cornered  cloth 
cap  on  their  heads.  I  soon  learnt  the  necessary  words  to  use 
when  driving  in  one  of  these  vehicles,  and  they  were  not  diffi- 
cult to  remember  by  giving  to  each  of  them  a  fancied  resem- 
blance to  English.  Thus  pashol,  push  on  !  means  '  get  along  ! ' 
scorrci,  hurry-scurry  !  '  go  faster ! '  stoi,  stay,  '  stop  ! ' 

One  consequence  of  the  size  of  the  street  and  squares  is 
the  apparent  paucity  of  the  population.  All  along  the  English 
Quay,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Neva,  and  in  the  vast  open 
space  that  extends  from  it  past  the  Admiralty  to  the  Winter 
Palace  and  the  Hermitage,  the  number  of  passengers  was  so 
small  as  to  give  St.  Petersburg  the  appearance  of  a  deserted 
city.  Indeed,  the  only  street  in  which  there  was  life  and 
bustle  was  the  Nevskoi  Prospekt.  At  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  English  Quay,  in  the  square,  or  plats,  opposite  the  Izak 
Church,  stands  the  famous  granite  monolith  on  w'hich  is  placed 
the  equestrian  statue  of  Peter  the  Great.  I  confess  I  was 
disappointed  in  the  size  of  this  block  of  stone.  I  had  heard 
so  much  about  it,  that  I  expected  to  find  it  a  good  deal 
larger.  It  ivas  larger  no  doubt  when  first  brought  to  St. 
Petersburg,  but  it  was  chipped  and  pared  down  to  give  it  the 
shape  it  now  bears,  which  is  an  inclined  slope,  up  which  the 
horse  of  the  Czar  is  supposed  to  have  galloped,  and  he  stands 
at  the  top  with  his  fore  feet  raised  high  in  the  air,  almost  in 
the  attitude  of  rearing. 

The  Izak  Church,  which  I  have  just  mentioned,  is  the 
principal,    or   at    all  events  the  most  richly  ornamented  and 


362  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

most  costly  church  in  St.  Petersburg.     It  is  in  the   form  of  a 
Greek  cross,  and  crowned  with  a  cupola,  which,  though  really 
lofty,  looks  low,  owing  to  the  massive  breadth  and  size  of  the 
building.     The  bronze   gates  are   beautifully  sculptured    in 
bas-rclicf  representing    Scripture  subjects.     We  ascended  to 
the  top,  and  had  a  splendid  view  of  the  whole  city  and  neigh- 
bourhood.    The  interior  of  the  church  is  very  sombre,  and 
completely  realizes  the  idea  of  a  '  dim  religious  light.'     But 
the  eiconostasis,  or  screen  before  the  altar,  is  a  gorgeous  mass 
of  gold,  through  which  at  intei-vals  appear  the  painted  heads 
and  hands  of  different  saints  who  are  the  objects  of  devout 
reverence  and  worship  in  Russia.     The  custom  is  to  kiss  the 
picture,  and  I  was  surprised  to  see  the   dexterous   mode  in 
which  the   women    prostrated    themselves    to    the    ground, 
touching  the  stone  floor  with  their  foreheads,  as  they  saluted 
some  favourite  saint.     It  would  have  puzzled  an  English  lady 
to  perform  the  same  feat  in  the  days  of  crinoline.     Externally 
the  Russians  appear  to  be  the  most  devout  people  in  Europe, 
and  they  certainly  have  the  organ  of  reverence  developed  in 
an  extraordinary  degree.     You   may  see  at  all  hours  of  the 
day    soldiers,    droshky-drivers,    butcher-boys,    and,     in    fact, 
persons  of  every  class  and  grade,  pulling   off  their  hats   and 
saying  their  prayers  before  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  or  a  saint 
in  the  street.     Confession,  I  believe,  is  made  once  a  year,  and 
the  officers  have  a  compendious  form  of  going  through  the 
ceremony  ;  for  on  entering  the  room  where  the  priest  is  seated 
they  throw  a  piece  of  money  on  the  table,  and  say,  '  My  sins 
are  just  the  same  as  last  year.  Father.' 

At  first  sight,  the  buildings  in  St.  Petersburg  seem  to  be 
of  stone  ;  but  a  little  examination  shows  that  it  is  nothing 
but  stucco,  and  as  this  becomes  decayed  and  broken  it  gives 
the  houses  a  dilapidated  appearance.  Even  the  huge  Winter 
Palace,  which,  when  occupied  by  the  Imperial  family,  is  said 
to  hold  7,000  persons,  is  only  brick  covered  with  plaster. 
St.  Petersburg  is,  in  fact,  a  veneered  city  ;  but  this  is  far 
pleasanter  to  the  eye  than  the  dirty,  unwashed  nakedness  of 
London  ;  and  where  stone  cannot  be  got,  it  is,  I  think,  quite 
right  to  make  the  best  imitation  of  it.  In  the  Hermitage, 
which  is  next  to,  and  continuous  with,  the  Winter  Palace, 
there  is  a  remarkably  fine  collection  of  pictures,  particularly 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA  AND    THE   GREAT  EAIR.     363 

some  Rcmbrandts  and  other  celebrated  masters  of  the  Dutch 
school.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  explore  them  in  company 
with  Mr.  Savill  Lumley,  the  British  charge  d'affaires  while  I 
was  at  St.  Petersburg,  who  is  himself  such  an  accomplished 
artist  that  some  of  his  copies  might  well  be  taken  for 
originals. 

Amongst  the  lions  of  the  capital  must  not  be  forgotten 
the  mammoth  elephant,  the  skeleton  of  which  stands  in  the 
Museum  of  Natural  History  on  the  north  side  of  the  Neva. 
It  was  discovered  in  Siberia,  with  enough  flesh  on  it,  as  they 
say,  to  give  the  wolves  a  meal ;  but  they  must  have  found  it 
a  terribly  tough  morsel.  It  is  no  doubt  a  very  respectable 
monster  ;  but  size  is  a  mere  question  of  comparison,  and 
beside  the  antediluvian  has  been  placed  a  huge  elephant  of 
modern  times,  which  is  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  large  as 
his  prehistoric  ancestor.  The  tusks  seem  to  have  grown 
almost  at  right  angles  with  the  jaw  ;  but  this  is  merely  the 
result  of  a  mistake  in  setting  up  the  skeleton,  and  the  brute 
is  in  all  respects  a  fac-simile  of  the  elephant  of  the  present 
day.  We  were  told  that  another  fossil  skeleton  has  lately 
been  found  in  Siberia,  and  it  is  expected  that  it  will  be  disin- 
terred and  removed  to  St.  Petersburg. 

We  went  one  evening  to  a  place  called  in  French  les 
Eanx,  situated  on  one  of  the  numerous  small  islands  with 
which  the  Neva,  as  it  flows  from  the  north-east,  is  studded. 
Here  we  found  a  troop  of  Swiss  girls,  or  girls  dressed  in 
Swiss  costumes,  who  sang  national  songs  ;  and  an  English 
gymnast,  whose  body  seemed  to  be  made  of  India-rubber,  so 
extraordinary  were  the  knots  and  contortions  into  which  he 
twisted  himself  As  we  drove  home,  the  view  of  the  long 
array  of  gas-lamps  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Neva,  stretching 
away  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  had  a  very  beautiful 
effect.  The  Neva  is  lined  on  both  sides  with  granite  quays  ; 
and  when  the  water  reaches  a  certain  height,  a  gun  is  fired  to 
give  warning  to  the  inhabitants,  that  they  may  be  prepared 
for  a  possible  inundation.  While  we  were  at  St.  Petersburg 
the  water  was  within  a  few  inches  of  the  dreaded  mark.  The 
weather,  however,  was  fine  during  our  staj',  with  the  exception 
of  one  day,  which  was  cold  and  wet,  and  gave  us  some  idea 
of  what  the  icy  breath  of  winter  must  be  there.     I  observed 


364  £SSAVS  CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

that  then  a  great  many  people  put  on  their  basJiiliks,  a  high- 
peaked  covering  for  the  head,  of  strong  cloth,  which  com- 
pletely shelters  the  head  and  shoulders  from  the  rain,  and 
keeps  the  wearer  comfortably  warm. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  in  the  city  is  the 
Foundling  Hospital,  with  its  curious  internal  arrangements. 
Like  everything  else  in  Russia,  it  is  on  a  vast  scale.  We 
were  conducted  over  it  by  one  of  the  intelligent  medical  men 
attached  to  it,  and  obtained  from  him  a  good  deal  of  informa- 
tion. There  were  then  not  more  than  six  hundred  infants  in 
the  building,  but  the  number  is  often  very  largely  increased. 
The  long  suites  of  rooms  have  rows  of  cradles  or  little  bed- 
steads against  the  wall,  with  babies  in  them,  attended  by 
nurses  in  a  costume,  the  colour  of  which  is  different  for  each 
story,  and  there  are  baths  and  ovens,  and  all  kinds  of 
apparatus  for  the  comfort  and  cleanliness  of  babydom.  In 
one  cradle  we  saw  what  looked  like  a  pair  of  wax  dolls. 
These  were  twins  just  arrived.  The  room  in  which  they  are 
received  is  on  the  ground-floor.  They  are  generally  brought 
in  by  one  of  the  women  who  hang  about  the  building  outside, 
on  the  watch  for  some  hapless  mother  with  her  burden,  who 
hands  it  over  to  her,  and,  in  most  cases,  never  sees  or  hears 
more  of  her  offspring.  If  the  child  is  illegitimate,  I  believe 
that  she  never  does  see  it  again.  If  legitimate,  it  can  be 
claimed  within  a  certain  period,  and  care  is  taken  to  keep 
such  a  register  of  the  children,  and  so  distinguish  them,  that 
they  can  be  given  up  to  the  right  parent.  But  the  usual 
course  is,  to  put  them  out  .to  nurse  in  the  country,  amongst 
the  peasantry.  As  they  grow  up  they  are  sent  to  school,  and 
if  of  the  male  sex  to  college — at  least,  such  of  them  as  show 
aptitude  for  learning ;  and,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  the 
responsibility  of  the  institution,  which  is,  in  fact,  the  govern- 
ment, ceases,  and  they  shift  for  themselves.  Many  of  them 
become  the  agricultural  servants  of  the  farmers  in  whose 
houses  they  have  been  reared.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as 
to  the  extreme  kindness  and  liberality  with  which  these 
young  unfortunates  are  treated,  and  so  far  it  does  honour  to 
the  humanity  of  the  Russian  government ;  but  whether  it 
conduces  to  social  morality  is  another  question.  One  good 
effect,  however,  is,  that  the  temptation  to  commit  the  crime 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND    THE   GREAT  FAIR.     365 

of  infanticide  hardly  exists,  and,  it  is,   I  believe,  extremely 
rare. 

I  had  been  led  to  believe  that  a  knowledge  of  French  was 
quite  sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes  in  the  chief  towns  of 
Russia,  but  I  soon  found  that  this  is  a  mistake.  In  the 
principal  shops  there  is  generally,  but  by  no  means  always, 
some  one  who  understands  the  language ;  or,  failing  this, 
some  one  who  can  speak  German.  But  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases  it  is  Russian  or  nothing,  and  '  Franziski,  nitt,' 
'  Angliski,  nitt,'  is  the  usual  response  to  the  traveller  who 
wants  to  make  a  purchase.  The  only  way,  then,  is  to  resort 
to  pantomime,  and  carry  on  the  conversation  (.'')  by  signs,  and 
I  thought  the  Russian  shopkeepers  rather  clever  in  under- 
standing this  sort  of  dumb  show.  In  bargaining  as  to  price 
the  best  plan  is  to  write  down  on  a  piece  of  paper  what  you 
intend  to  give,  and  walk  out  of  the  shop  if  it  is  not  accepted. 
You  will  generally  find  yourself  called  back,  and  see  the 
shopkeeper  beginning  to  wrap  up  the  article  for  you.  Still  it 
is  a  great  inconvenience  to  travel  in  Russia  without  knowing 
the  language  of  the  country.  One  day  when  we  were 
engaged  to  dine  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Michele,  the  English 
Consul  at  St.  Petersburg,  we  got  into  a  droshky  at  our  hotel 
a  few  minutes  before  the  hour  ;  and  after  the  istvostchick  had 
received  instructions  from  one  of  the  waiters  where  he  was  to 
go,  and  had  nodded  assent,  we  set  off.  By  and  by  we  found 
ourselves  in  a  part  of  the  town  where  I  felt  sure  the  consul 
did  not  live,  and  our  istvostchick  was  obviously  driving  at 
random  in  utter  ignorance  of  his  destination.  But  how  to 
direct  him  was  the  question.  The  stock  of  our  vocabulary 
was  comprised  in  the  words,  Pashol,  go  on  !  scorrci,  drive 
faster  !  stoi,  stay  !  na  pravo,  to  the  right !  na  Icvo,  to  the  left  ! 
and  these  were  not  enough  to  enable  us  to  steer  the  ship  to 
the  right  harbour.  We  made  him  therefore  drive  on  until  I 
saw  a  French  milliner's  shop,  where  I  alighted,  and  asked  the 
way  to  the  consul's  house,  but  Je  ne  sais  pas  was  the  only 
answer  I  could  get.  We  then  proceeded  through  a  labyrinth 
of  dirty  streets  until  we  came  to  a  German  wine-store,  with 
the  words  Wein  Handlung  written  outside.  Here  I  again 
got  out  and  asked  the  same  question,  but  got  the  same 
unsatisfactory  reply,  Ich  wciss  nicJit.     It  had  now  begun  to 


366  ^^-^-^KS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

rain,  we  had  no  umbrellas,  and  the  dinner-hour  was  long 
past.  We  next  drove  to  an  English  bookseller's,  where  an 
Irish  dame  de  coniptoir  gave  us  a  wrong  direction  ;  and  in  the 
end  we  were  obliged  to  go  back  to  our  hotel  ;  and  after 
getting  another  droshky  and  a  less  stupid  Jehu,  we  arrived  at 
Mr.  Michele's  hospitable  house  more  than  an  hour  after  the 
time  at  which  we  had  been  invited. 

Smoking  is  not  allowed  in  the  streets  of  the  Russian 
towns,  and  this  is,  I  think,  a  very  proper  regulation.  Those 
who  do  not  smoke  generally  abhor  the  smell  of  tobacco,  and 
the  extent  to  which  the  habit  is  carried  on  in  the  streets  of 
London  and  Paris  and  the  German  towns  is  most  annoying 
to  the  non-smoking  part  of  the  community,  including,  of 
course,  a  full  half  of  the  population — namely,  the  women. 

We  left  Petersburg  for  Moscow,  on  Saturday,  by  the 
night  express  train,  which  performs  the  journey  once  a  week 
in  twelve  hours  ;  the  other  trains  take  eighteen  or  twenty 
hours.  Not  an  ounce  of  luggage  is  allowed  free  on  this  line, 
except  what  the  traveller  can  take  with  him  in  the  carriage  ; 
and  of  course  therefore  the  size  and  quantity  of  carpet-bags 
and  portmanteaus  which  are  thus  taken  would  astonish  the 
guards  of  an  English  railway.  The  carriages  themselves  are 
most  commodious,  and  we  had  arranged  ourselves  comfort- 
ably for  the  night,  when,  after  getting  out  at  the  first  station 
for  some  refreshments,  we  found  on  our  return,  to  our  dismay, 
our  sleeping-places  occupied  by  a  lady  and  her  daughter  with 
a  mountain  of  furs,  cloaks,  and  shawls.  They  had  quitted 
their  own  compartment,  and  established  themselves  in  our 
quarters,  because  there  was  more  room  to  lie  down.  Seeing 
our  surprise,  the  young  lady  said,  in  broken  English,  *  Pray, 
shentlemen,  give  place — my  moder — she  very  ill.'  Of  course 
to  this  appeal  there  could  be  but  one  answer,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  make  the  best  we  could  of  the  remaining  space. 
They  were  Poles,  and  bent  on  a  melancholy  journey  ;  for  a 
son  of  the  elder  lady  was  dying  in  a  distant  part  of  Russia, 
and  they  were  hastening  to  meet  him.  On  our  return  from 
St.  Petersburg  to  Berlin  they  were  again  our  fellow  travellers, 
and  I  learnt  something  of  their  history.  They  bore  the 
proudly  historic  name  of  Jagcllon,  and  the  mother  told  me 
that  sixteen  of  her  near  relatives  had  either  lost  their  lives  or 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND   THE   GREAT  FAIR.     367 

been  sent  into  exile  during  the  late  insurrection  in  Poland. 
Her  sister's  husband  was  then  working  in  the  mines  at 
Tobolsk.  She  was,  I  believe,  a  widow ;  and  she  said  that 
they  were  greatly  reduced  in  fortune.  As  she  spoke  of 
her  past  happiness,  and  her  present  misery,  the  poor  lady 
wept  — 

Nessun  maggior  dolore 

Che  ricordarsi  del  tempo  felice 
Nella  miseria. 

While  I  was  conversing  with  her  in  one  of  the  carriages 
divided  into  compartments  by  screens,  as  I  have  before 
mentioned,  she  suddenly  stopped,  and  said,  in  a  very  low 
voice,  '  On  nous  epic!  I  looked  up,  and  saw  a  man's  head 
peeping  over  the  top  of  the  screen,  with  his  eyes  fixed 
intently  on  us.  I  said,  '  Jc  snis  Anglais,  ct  je  liai pas peur  ;  ' 
to  which  she  replied,  with  a  kind  of  shudder,  '  Mais  nioi,  je 
suis  Polonaise!  I  then  said,  ^  Nons  ponvons  le  dejoncr  en 
parlant  Ajiglais!  And  she  tried  to  talk  in  English,  but  it 
was  as  difficult  to  follow  her  as  if  she  had  been  Mrs.  Lirriper. 
I  cannot  say  that  the  listener  luas  a  spy,  but  he  certainly 
looked  like  it,  and  the  two  ladies  were  terrified  by  his 
presence.  I  may  add  that  her  sick  son  had  died  either  just 
before  or  after  they  had  accomplished  their  long  journey  to 
see  him,  and  his  body  accompanied  us  in  the  train,  for  burial, 
I  suppose,  at  the  family  chateau. 

The  stations  on  the  Petersburg  and  Moscow  line  arc  first- 
rate,  and  so  are  all  the  arrangements.  The  refreshments  are 
abundant  and  excellent,  and  there  is  plenty  of  time  allowed 
to  enjoy  them,  and,  when  necessary,  to  wash  comfortably  ; 
so  that  the  traveller  is  not  obliged,  as  in  England,  to  scald 
his  throat  while  he  hastily  gulps  down  his  cup  of  tea  or  basin 
of  soup,  and  hears  the  bell  ring  while  he  is  helping  himself  to 
a  slice  of  mutton.  The  line  is  single,  but  opens  out  into  an 
oval  form  as  it  approaches  each  station,  which  is  placed  in  the 
centre  between  the  two  lines  of  rails.  One  of  my  fellow 
travellers  told  me  that  he  was  once  going  from  Moscow  to 
Nijni  Novogorod  (where  the  line  is  similarly  arranged),  and 
he  got  out  and  went  into  a  station  just  as  a  train  came  up  in 
an  opposite  direction,  and  stopped  at  the  other  side.  He 
happened  to  go  round  a  table,  and  then  by  mistake  got  into 


368         £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  wrong  train,  nor  did  he   discover  his   error  until  he  was 
approaching  Moscow. 

The  spires  and  cupolas  of  this  most  interesting  city,  some 
coloured  in  pale  green,  and  others  flashing  in  gilded  bronze, 
first  appeared  when  we  were  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
station.  In  Clarke's  'Travels'  he  thus  describes  his  first 
impressions  of  the  city  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  : — 

'  Moscow  is  in  everything  extraordinary  ;  as  well  in  dis- 
appointing expectation  as  in  surpassing  it ;  in  causing  wonder 
and  derision,  pleasure  and  regret.  Let  me  conduct  the  reader 
back  with  me  again  to  the  gate  by  which  we  entered,  and 
thence  through  the  streets.  Numerous  spires  glittering  with 
gold,  amidst  burnished  domes  and  painted  palaces,  appear  in 
the  midst  of  an  open  plain,  for  several  versts  before  you  reach 
the  gate.  Having  passed,  you  look  about,  and  wonder  what  is 
become  of  the  city,  or  where  you  are  ;  and  are  ready  to  ask 
once  more,  "  How  far  is  it  to  Moscow  V  They  will  tell  you 
"  This  is  Moscow  ! "  and  you  behold  nothing  but  a  wide  and 
scattered  suburb,  huts,  gardens,  pigsties,  brick  walls,  churches, 
dunghills,  palaces,  timber-yards,  warehouses,  and  a  refuse  as  it 
were  of  materials  sufficient  to  stock  an  empire  with  miserable 
towns  and  miserable  villages.  One  might  imagine  all  the 
states  of  Europe  and  Asia  had  sent  a  building,  by  way  of 
representative,  to  Moscow ;  and  under  this  impression  the  eye 
is  presented  with  deputies  from  all  countries  holding  congress : 
timber  huts  from  regions  beyond  the  Arctic;  plastered  palaces 
from  Sweden  and  Denmark,  not  whitewashed  since  their  arrival; 
painted  walls  from  the  Tyrol  ;  mosques  from  Constantinople  ; 
Tartar  temples  ixom  Bucharia  ;  pagodas,  pavilions,  and 
verandas  from  China;  cabarets  from  Spain;  dungeons,  prisons, 
and  public  offices  from  France  ;  architectural  ruins  from 
Rome  ;  terraces  and  trellises  from  Naples  ;  and  warehouses 
from  Wapping.  .  .  .  Nor  is  the  costume  less  various  than 
the  aspect  of  the  buildings  :  Greeks,  Turks,  Tartars,  Cossacks, 
Chinese,  Muscovites,  English,  French,  Italians,  Poles,  Germans, 
all  parade  in  the  habits  of  their  respective  countries.' 

We  drove  to  the  Hotel  Duseaux,  opposite  to  the  Kitai 
Gorod,  or  Chinese  city — a  town  within  a  town — surrounded 
by  a  very  old  battlemented  wall,  which  might  afford  a  defence 
against  Tartar  arrows,  but  could  not  stand  a  moment  against 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND    THE   GREAT  FAIR.     369 

artillery.     In  front  of  our  windows  was  a  small  postern  in  the 
wall,  through  which   people  were  passing  and  repassing,  like 
bees  at  the  door  of  a  bee- hive.     It  was  Sunday  morning, 
and  we  went   to  the  English    church,  which  we  had  some 
difficulty  in    finding,   as  it  is  situated  in  an  out-of-the-way 
street,  and  has  externally  no  appearance  of  a  church.     It  is 
unfortunate  that  most  English  churches  abroad  have  the  same 
ugly  unattractive  appearance,   and  this,   combined  with   the 
poverty  of  our  ritual,  as  compared  with  the  gorgeous  cere- 
monial of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Greek  Churches,  must  do 
much  to  give  foreigners  a  mean  opinion  of  our  religion.    After 
service  we   proceeded  to  the  Kremlin,  a  walled    triangular 
space,  on  an  elevation  hardly  to  be  called  a  hill,  within  which 
are  contained   the  Palace,  the  Treasury,  the  Ivan  Veliki,  or 
Tower  of  John,  and  several  churches  and  other  buildings.     It 
was,  in  former  times,  the  citadel  or  fortress  of  Moscow,  but  it 
has  long  been  disused  as  a  fortification,  and  I  do  not  think 
it  can  boast  of  a  single  cannon  :  at  all  events,  I  sav/  none. 
The  moat  by  which  it  is  surrounded  has  been  converted  into 
pleasant  gardens,  which  form  a  favourite  promenade  for  the 
inhabitants.     We  entered  by  the  Spass  Vorota,  or  Holy  Gate, 
in  passing  which  every  one  is  obliged  to  take  off  his  hat,  to  do 
honour  to  a  picture  of  unknown  antiquity  which  hangs  high 
up  on  the  wall  on  the  inside  of  the  doorway.     A  sentry  stands 
here,  who  would  promptly  enforce  obedience  to  the  custom,  if 
a  stranger  were  incautious  enough  to  violate  it.     The  first 
thing  to  do  after  entering  the  enclosure  is  to  ascend  the  Ivan 
Tower,  and  enjoy  the  noble  view  which  it  commands.    At  the 
foot  of  the  tower,  outside,  stands  the  gigantic  monster  of  a 
bell   called  Tzar  Kolokol,  King  of  Bells,  which  fell   crashing 
to  the  ground  when  the  tower  was  burnt  in  1737,  and  buried 
itself  deep  in  the  soil.     A  piece  was  '  chipped  '  out  some  six 
feet   in  length,  and   broad   in  proportion  ;  and  as  the  bell  is 
now  supported  on  masonry  sunk  in  the  ground,  it  forms  an 
aperture   like  a  doorway.      It  is  difficult   to  exaggerate  the 
beauty  of  the  view  from  the  top  of  the  tower.     All  Moscow 
lies  beneath  the  eye,  spread  out  in  picturesque  confusion.     It 
is   just  the  opposite  of  St.  Petersburg,  where   everything  is 
regular  and  rectangular.     What  has  been  said  of  Grecian  and 
Gothic  architecture  may  be  said  of  these  two  cities  :  the  one  is 

B  li 


370  £SSAVS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE.. 

horizontal,  limited,  definite  ;  the  other  vertical,  aspiring, 
infinite.  Green  roofs,  and  ghttering  domes,  and  sky-pointing- 
spires  are  scattered  round  in  countless  profusion,  and  the 
Moskva  winds  in  a  graceful  curve  through  the  city  towards 
the  Sparrow  Hills,  on  the  south-west,  where  Napoleon  stood 
when  he  caught  his  first  sight  of  Moscow  in  1 812.  A  friend 
of  mine  remarked,  that  he  had  been  at  Constantinople  and 
Cairo,  and  that  Moscow  was  both  combined,  and  superior  to 
both.  This  is,  perhaps,  an  exaggeration,  for  there  is  no 
Bosphorus  to  gaze  upon,  but  it  shows  the  impression  which  a 
view  of  the  city  from  the  Ivan  Tower,  upon  a  glorious  day 
such  as  we  enjoyed,  makes  upon  the  traveller.  Holy  Moscow, 
as  the  Russians  delight  to  call  it,  is  very  irregularly  built  on 
undulating  ground,  and  I  never  was  in  a  town  where  I  had 
so  much  difficulty  in  remembering  my  way.  The  streets  are 
badly  paved,  with  deep  kennels,  and  often  planks  of  wood 
crossing  them,  over  which  the  droshkies  bump  in  a  way  which 
almost  throws  the  passenger  out  of  his  seat.  The  fact  is, 
that  the  chief  traffic  is  in  winter,  Avhen  the  frozen  snow  makes 
a  hard  and  smooth  road.  In  the  Kitai  Gorod  are  the  two 
great  bazaars,  called  Gostinoi  Dhor  ;  the  one  where  mer- 
chandise is  sold  wholesale,  and  the  other  containing  retail 
shops.  These  shops  are  little  dens,  placed  on  each  side  of  the 
arcades,  and  the  whole  reminded  me  of  the  arrangements  at 
Berne  or  Chester,  except  that  the  shops  do  not,  as  in  those 
towns,  face  the  street,  but  line  a  vaulted  corridor.  The  doors 
are  fastened  at  night  by  a  piece  of  string  with  a  leaden  seal, 
which  in  Russia  has  a  mysterious  sanctity,  being  under  the 
protection  of  some  saint,  and  I  believe  that  burglaries  are 
extremely  rare.  In  one  of  the  streets  just  inside  the  wall 
there  is  the  most  veritable  Rag  Fair  I  ever  saw.  I  walked 
along  it  one  morning  before  breakfast,  through  lines  of '  old 
clo's'  heaped  upon  the  pavement,  and  had  some  difficulty  in 
making  my  way,  owing  to  the  importunity  of  the  Jew  dealers. 
Remembering  the  conflagration  of  181 2,  I  had  expected 
to  find  in  Moscow  much  more  of  the  appearance  of  a  newly- 
built  town  than  is  really  the  case.  The  Kitai  Gorod  in  great 
part  escaped  the  flames,  and  the  Due  de  Fezensac  tells  us,  in  his 
most  interesting  '  Souvenirs  Militaires,'  that  Marshal  INIortier, 
who  remained  behind  when  Napoleon  quitted  Moscow,  with 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND   THE   GREAT  EAIR.      371 

orders  to  blow  up  the  Kremlin  and  burn  down  everything 
that  remained,  took  care  not  to  carry  out  fully  the  barbarous 
command,  but  softened  it  {adoucit)  in  a  manner  that  did 
honour  to  his  heart  and  character.  But  the  rest  of  the  city, 
Avhich  was  laid  in  ruins  and  has  been  rebuilt,  has  already  an 
antiquated  look.  This  may  perhaps  be  due  to  the  character 
of  the  architecture,  which  is  a  mixture  of  mediaivalism  and 
orientalism.  As  I  have  mentioned  the  Due  de  Fezensac's 
Memoirs,  I  will  quote  a  passage  in  which  he  describes  the 
appearance  and  state  of  Moscow  after  the  conflagration. 

'  I  traversed,'  he  says,  *  at  the  head  of  my  regiment,  the 
ruins  of  Moscow  for  the  first  time.  It  was  a  spectacle  at  once 
both  horrible  and  fantastic.  Some  houses  seemed  to  have 
been  razed  to  the  ground  ;  others  retained  some  patches  of 
wall  blackened  by  smoke  ;  debris  of  all  kinds  encumbered  the 
streets  ;  a  frightful  smell  of  burning  was  exhaled  on  all  sides. 
From  time  to  time  a  cottage,  a  church,  a  palace,  appeared 
standing  in  the  midst  of  the  great  disaster.  The  churches 
especially,  by  their  domes  of  a  thousand  colours,  by  the  rich- 
ness and  the  variety  of  their  construction,  recalled  to  mind 
the  ancient  opulence  of  Moscow.  The  greater  part  of  the 
inhabitants,  driven  away  by  our  soldiers  from  the  houses 
which  the  fire  had  spared,  had  taken  refuge  there.  These 
miserable  creatures,  wandering  like  spectres  in  the  midst  of 
the  ruins,  and  covered  with  rags,  had  recourse  to  the  vilest 
expedients  to  prolong  their  wretched  existence.  Sometimes 
they  devoured  in  the  midst  of  the  gardens  some  vegetables 
which  were  still  found  there  ;  sometimes  they  tore  off  strips 
of  flesh  from  dead  animals  in  the  middle  of  the  streets  ;  they 
were  seen  even  to  plunge  into  the  river,  and  drag  out  of  it 
the  grain  which  the  Russians  had  thrown  into  it,  and  which 
was  in  a  state  of  fermentation.  During  our  march  the  rattle 
of  the  drums,  and  the  sound  of  military  music,  rendered 
the  spectacle  still  more  sad,  by  recalling  the  idea  of  a  tri- 
umph in  the  midst  of  the  image  of  destruction,  misery,  and 
death.' 

Prince  Gortchacow  (not  Gortshakofif,  as  the  name  is  gene- 
rally spelt  in  England)  had  been  kind  enough  to  give  us 
letters  of  introduction  to  the  civil  and  military  governors  of 
Moscow ;  and,  after  we  had  left  our  cards  upon  them,  the 

B  B  2 


372  JSSSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

military  governor  called  on  us  at  our  hotel,  glittering  in  stars 
and  orders,  and  most  courteously  expressed  his  anxious  desire 
to  be  of  use,  saying  that  he  placed  himself  '  a  noire  disposition! 
Through  his  kindness  we  got  access  to  the  palace  in  the 
Kremlin  when  the  Emperor  was  there,  and  saw  the  interest- 
ing ceremony  of  the  Czar  going  to  the  Church  of  the  As- 
sumption, and  saluting  the  relics  there,  as  I  shall  afterwards 
relate.     We  had  joined  a  party  of  Englishmen  whom  we  met 
on  our  way  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow,  and  one  of  them, 
Mr.  Michell,  attache  ?it  St.  Petersburg,  spoke  Russian  fluently, 
and  was  of  the  greatest  use  to  us.     Thanks  to  him,  we  wit- 
nessed a  very  amusing  and  curious  sight.  The  head  of  the  police 
at  Moscow,  Count  Somebody,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten, 
offered  to  exhibit  the  fire  brigade  equipped  for  immediate  ser- 
vice ;  and  we  were  very  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
it,  as  the  Russian  fire-brigades  are  the  most  perfect  establish- 
ments of  the  kind  in  Europe.     We  all  drove  to  the  principal 
station,  where  what  are  called  the  resei-ve  engines  and  horses 
are  kept.     We  went  into  the  stables,  where  there  were  about 
eighty  fine-looking  horses  ;  when  suddenly,  without  any  warn- 
ing, a  bell  rang,  and  the  effect  was  electrical.     In  an  instant 
the  horses  snorted,  sprang  forward  in  their  stalls,  and  trem- 
bled with  excitement.      The  courtyard  swarmed  with  men 
dressed   in  the  costume  of  the  fire  brigade — grey  suits  and 
helmets— who  rushed,  some  to  the  horses,  and  some  to  the 
engines.     We  hurried  out  of  the  stables,  and,  in  exactly  three 
minutes  from  the  moment  that  the  bell    rang,   fourteen   or 
fifteen  fire-engines  Avere  out  in  the  street,  with  the  horses  all 
harnessed,  and   ready  to  start  wherever  the  imaginary  fire 
might  be  indicated  to  be.     They  then  set  off  in  long  proces- 
sion, and  came  back  at  a  rattling  pace  like  a  park  of  artillery, 
which  at  a  distance  they  very  much  resembled.     I  observed 
that  the  last  engine  had  upon  it  the  words,  in  English  So- 
and-so's  'Sheffield  Patent  Engine  ;'  and  I  was  told  that  the 
Russians  by  no  means  liked  this  importation,  as  it  seemed  to 
betoken  a  superiority  in  the  foreign  intruder.     A  telegraphic 
message  was  then  sent  to  two  other  stations  ordering  their 
fire  brigades  to  meet  at  a  certain  point,  and  we  drove  hastily 
towards  it.    Here  the  sight  was  extremely  interesting.   We  had 
hardly  reached  the  spot  when  we  saw,  descending  at  a  gallop 


VISIT  TO   RUSSIA  AND    THE    GREAT  FAIR.     373 

a  long  hill  in  the  distance,  two  companies  of  the  brigade — one 
with  horses  all  of  a  grey,  and  the  other  with  horses  all  of  a 
bay  colour — and  rapidly  approaching  us.  At  the  same  time 
a  third  company  came  up  from  a  different  direction  ;  and  the 
three  waited  at  the  point  where  we  stood,  and  then  executed 
several  evolutions  with  the  precision  of  cavalry.  Tlie  horses 
were  remarkably  fine  and  spirited  animals,  and  this  is  easily 
accounted  for  if  the  same  law  prevails  at  Moscow  that  prevails 
at  St.  Petersburg.  There,  if  any  carnage  upsets,  or  injures 
another  carriage,  in  the  street,  or  if  any  passenger  is  knocked 
down,  the  horses  of  the  offending  vehicle  are  seized  and  con- 
fiscated to  the  use  of  the  fire  brigade.  This  had  happened,  a 
few  days  before  wc  reached  St.  Petersburg,  with  the  carriage 
of  the  Saxon  Minister,  in  which  his  wife  was  driving.  The 
horses  were  laid  hold  of,  and  she  was  ordered  to  alight.  This, 
however,  she  refused  to  do,  and  the  result  ^^•as  that  she  was 
allowed  to  drive  home,  but  the  horses  were  claimed  neverthe- 
less. The  affair  was  still  pending  when  we  left  Russia.  I 
once  saw  a  body  of  the  brigade  dashing  down  the  Nevskoi 
Prospekt  in  the  case  of  a  real  fire.  It  was  preceded  by  a  man 
on  horseback  holding  a  flag  to  give  warning  to  the  passengers, 
and  clear  the  way. 

One  day  I  hired  a  droshky  and  drove  some  two  miles  to 
the  outskirts  of  the  city  on  the  south-west,  as  far  as  the 
Devictchi  Convent.  Here  I  dismissed  the  carriage,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  foot  through  some  low-lying  alluvial  ground  along 
a  muddy  road  to  the  banks  of  the  Moskva,  where  there  was  a 
ferry-boat.  I  crossed  the  river,  and  ascended  the  bushy  and 
rather  steep  side  of  the  Sparrow  Hills,  beneath  which  the 
Moskva  flows  in  a  winding  stream.  When  I  got  to  the  top  I 
found  a  sort  of  summer-house,  with  a  balcony,  and  near  it  a 
small  cabaret,  where  I  was  able  to  procure  some  tea,  and  eggs, 
and  bread,  but  no  butter  or  milk.  I  sat  in  the  balcony  and 
enjoyed  one  of  the  most  picturesque  views  I  ever  beheld. 
Before  and  beneath  me  lay  Moscow, 

Hanging  in  the  shadowy  air, 
Like  a  picture  rich  and  rare. 

The  sun  was  shining  brightly,  and  my  eyes  were  quite  dazzled 
with  the  golden  effulgence  of  gilded  cupolas  and  spires,  espe- 


374  £SSAVS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

cially  that  of  the  new  church  (I  forget  the  name)  Avhich  has 
been  in  the  course  of  construction  for  years,  as  a  memorial  of  the 
dehverance  of  Russia  from  the  French  invasion  in  1812,  and 
is  not  yet  finished.  I  thought  the  sight  more  beautiful  than 
even  that  of  Rome  as  seen  across  the  Campagna  from  the 
site  of  ancient  Tusculum.  Close  to  me  were  a  pretty  little 
church  and  churchyard,  where  Napoleon  stood  when  he  sent 
to  demand  the  keys  of  the  Kremlin,  and  received  for  answer 
that  General  Kutusoff,  at  the  head  of  the  Russian  army,  had 
got  them  in  his  pocket.  The  French  blew  up  the  church,  but 
it  has  been  rebuilt.  To  the  left,  in  the  distance,  lay  the  Im- 
perial Palace,  called  Petrovski,  and  on  the  plain  before  it 
shone  the  white  tents  of  a  large  body  of  soldiers,  not  less  I 
believe  than  80,000,  who  were  encamped  there.  Far  off  on 
each  side  stretched  the  immeasurable  steppes,  until  they  were 
lost  in  the  horizon.  My  only  companion  in  the  balcony  was 
a  young  Caucasian,  who  had  been  for  two  years  a  student  at 
the  University  of  Moscow,  and  spoke  French  tolerably  well. 
He  sighed  for  his  native  mountains,  and  seemed  to  like  nothing 
in  Russia.  In  the  course  of  conversation  I  asked  him  if  the 
women  of  the  Caucasus  were  not  very  beautiful,  and  his  answer 
much  amused  me.  '  il/rt/j  (?///,' he  said  ;  '  wic  fanine  Caucase 
bat  trait  cinq  fannies  Riisscs  ;'  and  he  showed  by  the  action  of 
his  arms  that  he  meant  not  that  a  single  Caucasian  lady  would 
carry  off  the  palm  of  beauty,  but  would  be  more  than  a  match 
with  her  fists  for  five  Russians  of  the  same  sex.  In  returning 
to  the  town  I  stopped  at  the  Devictchi  Convent,  and  entered 
by  the  great  gate,  not  without  some  misgivings  that  I  was  a 
trespasser,  and  might  be  summarily  ejected.  It  is  a  vast  en- 
closure, surrounded  by  a  high  battlemented  wall  of  red  brick, 
and  the  interior  is  something  like  one  of  the  large  colleges  at 
Cambridge  or  Oxford,  with  a  church  and  dormitories,  and 
various  other  buildings,  interspersed  with  gardens.  There 
were  a  few  nuns  in  black  dresses  flitting  about,  and  I  met 
some  of  them  as  they  were  returning  from  the  town  ;  so  that 
it  is  clear  they  are  not  recluses. 

One  is  struck  in  Russia  with  the  immense  number  of 
pigeons  which  arc  seen  everywhere  in  the  towns,  and  which 
show  no  signs  of  fear.  They  are  never  eaten,  being  considered 
a  sacred  bird,  and  symbols  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

\Vc  dined  one  evening  at  a  restaurant  called  the  Tritskoi, 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND    THE   GREAT  FAIR.    375 

or  some  such  name,  which  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  best 
in  Moscow,  and  where  Prince  Alfred  was  entertained  when  he 
visited  the  city.  The  exterior  of  the  house  is  most  forbidding 
— hardly  better  than  that  of  a  pot-house — and  the  inside  is 
very  different  indeed  from  the  restaurants  and  cafes  of  Paris. 
We  were  a  party  of  ten,  all  English,  and  under  the  guidance 
of  Mr.  Michell  we  had  ordered  a  dinner  at  which  every  dish 
was  to  be  Russian,  and  all  the  wines  were  to  be  Russian  also. 
The  room  into  \\'hich  we  were  ushered  was  shabby  enough, 
with  a  dirty  carpet,  and  had  an  intolerably  close  smell  until 
we  threw  open  the  windows,  and  let  in  some  fresh  air.  Before 
dinner  we  had  the  usual  zagouski  of  cheese,  sardines,  caviare, 
and  other  things,  assisted  by  liqueurs  of  which  no  less  than 
eleven  bottles  of  different  kinds  stood  upon  the  sideboard,  and 
in  the  midst  of  them,  proudly  pre-eminent,  was  a  bottle  of 
Old  Tom.  The  waiters  were  all  dressed  in  what  looked  like 
long  white  cJiciniscs  reaching  down  to  their  feet,  with  girdles 
round  their  waists,  I  cannot  pretend  to  recollect  the  various 
dishes  ;  but  we  began  with  cold  soup  which  would  have  been 
excellent  if  it  had  been  hot.  Some  of  the  party  had  proposed 
that  w^e  should  have  sterlet,  a  fish  from  the  Volga,  and  the 
most  expensive  in  Russia  ;  but,  on  inquiry,  we  found  that  a 
tureen  of  sterlet  soup  would  cost  us  three  rubles  or  nine  shil- 
lings a  head  extra,  which  would  make  the  price  of  the  soup 
four  pounds  ten  shillings  ;  and,  as  we  were  all  going  to  Nijni 
Novogorod,  where  we  could  get  sterlet  cheap,  we  agreed  to 
postpone  the  experiment.  The  wines  were  all  from  the  Crimea, 
and  were  called  Champagne,  Sauterne,  and  Claret.  I  cannot 
say  that  they  were  equal  to  their  French  namesakes  ;  but 
much  better  than  I  expected. 

We  went  one  night  to  the  Hermitage,  the  Moscow 
Cremorne,  to  hear  gipsies  sing,  and  see  them  dance.  These 
gipsies  have  good  voices,  and  the  melody  of  their  song  is  wild 
and  sweet.  It  is  mentioned  in  Murray's  Handbook  that 
Catalani  was  so  charmed  with  one  of  them  that  she  took  off  a 
costly  shawl  that  had  been  given  to  her  by  some  King  or 
Emperor,  and  threw  it  over  the  dark  Bohemian's  shoulders, 
saying  that  she  was  the  Queen  of  song.  Certainly  that  gipsy 
was  not  amongst  the  band  that  we  heard.  Their  dances  are 
strange  enough,  accompanied  with  a  shuddering  of  the  whole 
body,  as  if  in  a  state  of  uncontrollable  excitement. 


376  JSSSAVS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

An  incident  occurred  to  me  while  I  was  watching  them, 
which  I  suppose  could  only  have  happened  in  Russia.  I  was 
in  a  chair  in  front  of  the  orchestra,  when  an  attendant  came 
up  to  me  and  made  signs  that  I  must  leave  it.  I  demurred  to 
this,  for  there  was  no  other  seat  vacant.  He  then  tried  to 
force  me  from  the  chair,  and  I  resisted,  determined  not  to  give 
up  my  place,  and  wondering  what  he  could  mean.  A  friend 
then  told  me  that  the  man  was  saying  that  a  Russian  general 
wanted  a  seat,  and  that  I  must  give  up  mine  to  him.  I  still 
refused,  and  I  do  not  know  what  would  have  been  the  result, 
if  my  friend,  who  spoke  Russian,  had  not  interfered  and 
pointed  out  a  place  where  the  general  could  find  a  seat,  so 
that  I  was  allowed  to  remain  \\'ithout  further  molestation.  I 
am  not  sure  that,  if  it  had  not  been  for  this,  I  might  not  have 
been  again  arrested,  and  taken  to  a  Russian  guard-house. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  give  a  catalogue  raisonnc  of  the 
sights  of  Moscow,  but  it  may  be  interesting  to  mention  our 
visit  to  the  Kremlin  when  the  Emperor,  who  had  arrived  the 
night  before,  was  in  the  palace,  and  we  accompanied  him  to 
the  Church  of  the  Assumption  to  see  him  salute  the  relics 
there — some  of  the  holiest  in  Russia.  Owing  to  the  good 
offices  of  the  Chamberlain  of  the  Palace,  we  were  admitted 
inside  the  building,  which  contains  three  of  the  finest  and 
most  beautiful  halls  in  the  world.  They  are  called  respectively 
the  Halls  of  St.  George,  St.  jMichacl,  and  St.  Andrew.  The 
crowd  outside  waiting  to  see  the  Czar  pass  into  the  church 
was  immense.  He  had,  however,  first  to  go  through  the 
ceremony  of  receiving  a  deputation  of  the  citizens  of  Moscov/, 
who,  according  to  ancient  usage,  invite  him  to  eat  bread  with 
them,  and  are,  I  believe,  graciously  asked  to  partake  of  a 
banquet  in  return.  We  were  placed  in  a  gallery  opposite  the 
long  stairs  down  which  the  Emperor  was  to  descend,  and  here 
I  had  some  conversation  with  a  Russian  lady  to  whom  I  was 
hitroduced,  and  she  told  me  that  she  had  just  returned  from 
a  place  some  thousands  of  vcrsts  to  the  south-east  of  Moscow, 
where  she  had  gone  to  drink  marc's  milk  for  an  affection  of 
the  chest,  living  there  in  the  chateau  of  a  Tartar  chief  She 
declared  that  the  milk  had  completely  cured  her.  When  the 
Emperor  appeared  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  there  was  a  loud 
hurra,  w^hich  we  must  remember  was  the  genuine  cry  of  the 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND    THE   GREAT  FAIR.     377 

Huns  in  their  terrible  onsets,  and  imported  amongst  ourselves 
from  the  East.  We  descended  as  fast  as  we  could  to  secure 
an  entrance  into  the  church,  but  the  crush  was  terrific.  I  never 
was  in  such  a  jam.  A  lady  who  had  hold  of  my  arm  was 
carried  away  from  me,  and  I  was  forced  bodily  into  the 
church,  the  doors  of  which  were  immediately  afterwards  shut. 
It  was  crowded  to  excess.  The  Emperor  and  his  sons  stood 
beside  a  pillar  close  to  the  great  altar,  and  then  began  a  ser- 
vice which  lasted  for  more  than  an  hour,  and  was,  to  those, 
like  myself,  who  did  not  understand  it,  sufficiently  tedious.  Of 
course,  there  was  the  usual  bowing  and  genuflexion  and  fling- 
ing of  incense,  but  what  struck  me  as  most  curious  was  the 
constant  dressing  and  undressing  of  a  venerable  sightless  old 
man,  upon  whom  the  most  gorgeous  vestments  were  put  from 
time  to  time.  This  was  blind  old  Phiiaret,  the  Archbishop  of 
Moscovr,  upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age,  and  said  to  be  one 
of  the  most  learned  men  in  Russia.  It  seemed  almost  a 
mockery  to  array  him  in  robes  of  dazzling  gold,  with  a  jewelled 
tiara  upon  his  head.     When  he  gave  the  benediction, 

Raising  his  sightless  balls  to  Heaven, 

it  reminded  me  of  the  scene  of  the  Abbot  in  '  Marmion.' 

As  soon  as  the  mass  was  over,  the  Emperor  and  his  sons 
walked  to  the  different  chapels  where  the  relics  are  kept,  and 
reverently  knelt  down  before  them.  He  is  a  stoutly  built 
man,  and  the  lower  part  of  his  face  is  too  thick,  but  his  blue 
eye  is  clear  and  intelligent.  Afterwards  there  was  a  review, 
which  almost  everybody  but  myself  hurried  off  to  see,  but  I 
was  too  tired  to  care  to  go,  and  the  heat  was  excessive. 

When  we  were  exploring  the  Church  of  the  Assumption,  a 
few  days  before,  there  was  nobody  in  it  except  a  tall,  fine- 
looking  priest,  who  was  saying  mass,  and  an  attendant,  who 
seemed  to  act  as  a  kind  of  clerk.  Our  Russian-speaking 
friend  said  he  wondered  whether  he  would  stop  his  prayers,  and 
show  us  the  curiosities  of  his  sacristy,  where  the  paraphernalia 
of  the  priests,  and  some  very  old  missals  thickly  studded  with 
precious  stones,  are  kept.  I  said,  '  Certainly  not ; '  but  I  was 
mistaken.  A  few  words  were  whispered  into  his  ear,  \\-hen  he 
closed  the  book,  and  led  the  way  into  the  vestry,  where,  after 
he  had  exhibited  everything  that  was  to  be  seen,  we  felt  some 


378  ASSAYS    CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

difficulty  about  offering  him  a  gratuity.  However,  on  consult- 
ing the  attendant,  whom  I  have  called  the  clerk,  he  assured 
us  that  it  was  quite  en  regie,  and  the  venerable  gentleman, 
who  had  a  magnificent  flowing  beard,  pocketed  the  rubles. 

Moscow  is  the  town  from  which  the  exiles  destined  for 
Siberia  often  set  out  on  foot,  upon  their  long  and  miserable 
journey.  Numbers  of  Poles  implicated  in  the  late  insur- 
rection w^ere  passing  every  week,  and  the  English  consul, 
Mr.  Roberts,  told  me  that  he  lately  saw  a  party  of  Polish 
ladies  driving  droshkies  through  the  streets  of  Moscow,  on 
their  way  to  Siberia,  and  apparently  very  merry.     He  said, 

also,  that  he  had  seen  the  Princess  G ,  a  daughter  of  one 

of  the  noblest  houses  in  Russia,  walking  on  foot,  with  other 
prisoners,  on  the  same  dreary  journey.  But  her  offence  was 
not  political ;  she  was  a  convicted  felon.  It  seems  that  there 
was  a  shrine  in  Moscow  ornamented  with  rich  jewels,  and 
amongst  others  a  very  valuable  diamond.  The  Princess  was 
observed  to  be  constantly  kissing  the  picture  (I  need  not  say 
that  there  are  no  images  in  the  Greek  Church),  and  at  last 
she  was  detected  in  sucking  out  the  diamond,  which  she  got 
into  her  mouth  and  stole.  For  this  she  was  sentenced  to 
banishment  in  Siberia,  where  she  now  is.  I  met  five  or  six 
prisoners  walking  along  in  chains,  and  guarded  by  gendarmes: 
several  times  people  went  up  to  them  and  put  money  into 
their  hands,  which  is,  I  suppose,  allowed.  At  Genoa  I  have 
seen  convicts,  whose  red-striped  caps  showed  that  they  had 
committed  murder,  working  in  chains  and  smoking  cigars ! 

The  shops  at  Moscow  are  inferior  to  those  of  St.  Petersburg, 
and  make  a  very  poor  show.  The  best  place  to  purchase 
ornaments,  and  gilt  salt-cellars,  and  spoons,  which  are  very 
pretty,  is  the  Gostinoi  Dhor,  where  also  now  and  then  may  be 
picked  up  cheap  old  silver  drinking-cups  ;  but  I  cannot  say 
that  any  great  bargains  are  to  be  got.  Furs  arc  very  dear 
in  Moscow,  I  suppose  from  the  great  demand.  One  that  I 
purchased,  made  of  Siberian  squirrel-skins,  called  Siberiski 
Bielka,  cost  within  a  pound  or  ten  shillings  of  what  it  would 
have  cost  in  London.  The  best  hotels  are  those  of  Duseaux 
and  Billet  and  Billow.  The  last  two  are  in  the  same  street, 
nearly  opposite  to  each  other  ;  but,  notwithstanding  the 
similarity  of  name,  which  often  causes  mistakes,  neither  had 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND    THE   GREAT  EAIR.    379 

*  any  connexion  with  the  shop  over  the  way.'  On  our  return 
to  Moscow  from  Nijni  Novogorod,  wc  stayed  at  the  Hotel 
Billet,  which  is  a  pension,  and  kept  by  Madame  Billet  and  her 
sister,  both  of  whom  speak  English  perfectly.  We  found  it 
very  clean  and  comfortable,  but  not  so  smart  as  the  Hotel 
Duseaux,  where  there  is  a  most  excellent  restaurant.  Amongst 
the  guests  was  a  fier}'-faced  old  Scotch  Professor,  who  spoke 
in  the  broadest  accent,  and  amused  us  by  the  dry  caustic 
severity  of  his  remarks.  He  had  travelled  far  and  wide  over 
Europe,  and  the  result  of  his  experience  seemed  to  be  that, 
'  from  Dan  even  to  Beersheba,  all  is  barren  ! ' 

The  terminus  of  the  railway  that  goes  from  Moscow  to 
Nijni  Novogorod  is  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and  fully  two 
miles  from  the  Hotel  Duseaux.  As  we  left  the  paved  streets, 
the  road  became  very  like  a  swamp,  caused,  I  suppose,  by  the 
amount  of  traffic  upon  it  before  it  had  been  properly  '  metalled.' 
We  left  ]\Ioscow  by  the  express  train  at  night,  and  reached 
Novogorod  next  morning  at  nine  o'clock.  Of  course  I  could 
only  on  this  occasion  see  so  much  of  the  country  as  was  visible 
at  the  latter  end  of  our  journey  after  daybreak,  but,  in  return- 
ing, the  view  was  reversed,  for  we  left  Novogorod  at  night 
and  had  daylight  for  the  Moscow  end,  so  that  I  could  form  a 
tolerable  idea  of  the  scenery  through  which  we  passed.  It  is 
very  much  like  that  between  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow — 
forests  of  birch  and  fir,  but  with  more  of  open  country, 
stretching  away  for  immense  distances,  and  most  inviting  for 
a  gallop.  We  passed  several  wooden  villages,  mere  collec- 
tions of  log  huts,  which  looked  very  miserable.  Nijni  Novo- 
gorod stands  at  the  point  of  confluence  of  the  Oka  and  the 
Volga,  and  the  stream  of  the  Oka  was  visible  on  our  right 
for  a  considerable  distance  before  we  reached  our  destination. 
The  ground  is  as  flat  as  a  billiard-table,  and  the  line  of  railway 
is  almost  mathematically  straight,  but  the  monotony  of  the 
landscape  is  relieved  by  some  high  ground  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Oka,  which  rises  to  the  dignity  of  a  range  of  hills  until 
it  is  stopped  by  the  Volga  at  the  point  where  the  Oka  meets 
that  river  ;  and  here,  on  the  bluff  or  promontory  that  over- 
looks the  *  meeting  of  the  M'aters,'  the  old  Nov^ogorod,  or  old 
new  town,  is  situated.  Nijni  means  '  low,'  and  is  properly 
applied  to   a  straggling   suburb  on  the  other  or  left  bank  of 


38o  ASSAYS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

the  Oka.  It  occupies  part  of  the  triangular  space  between  the 
two  rivers — a  dead  sandy  flat  which  is  constantly  overflowed 
in  winter. 

When  we  reached  the  station,  the  first  news  ^^•e  heard 
from  some  friends  who  had  preceded  us  the  day  before  was 
that  there  w^as  not  a  bed  to  be  got  at  Nijni  Novogorod  or  the 
Fair,  The  officials  employed  at  the  station  had  very  cour- 
teously given  up  their  rooms  to  our  party ;  and  we  found 
that  six  or  seven  of  us  could  occupy  a  large  chamber,  perfectly 
clean,  but  of  which  the  whole  furniture  consisted  in  a  single 
table,  without  any  sign  of  a  bed.  However,  we  w'ere  thankful 
to  get  this,  and  the  first  thing  I  did  was  to  jump  into  a 
droshky,  and  drive  with  two  friends  along  a  deep  sandy  road 
to  the  left  bank  of  the  Oka,  where  there  was  a  wooden 
bathing-house  in  the  river  belonging  to  the  officers  of  the 
railway,  and  where  we  had  a  most  refreshing  swim.  After 
breakfast  we  set  out  under  the  guidance  of  a  Russian  officer, 
who  had  sonie  duty  connected  with  the  Fair,  to  explore  the 
strange  scene  around  us. 

We  had  heard  much  beforehand  of  the  devastation  caused 
by  a  fire  amongst  the  wooden  huts  a  short  time  previously, 
and  had  been  told  that  we  should  find  half  of  the  place  burnt 
down  ;  but  this  was  a  mistake.  There  had  been  a  destructive 
fire,  but  hardly  a  trace  of  it  remained,  for  the  huts  had  been 
rapidly  rebuilt,  and  business  was  going  on  everywhere  as 
briskly  as  usual.  It  is  difficult  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the 
extraordinary  scene.  In  the  middle  of  the  Fair,  reaching 
down  to  the  sandy  bed  of  the  Oka,  the  buildings  are  of  brick, 
and  remain  standing  all  the  year  ;  but  on  both  sides  of  these, 
and  behind  them,  is  extemporised  for  two  months  a  vast 
wooden  town  where  the  East  and  the  West  commingle  in 
traffic,  and  property  is  bought  and  sold  to  the  amount  of 
many  millions  sterling.  The  plain  on  which  it  stands  is,  as  I 
have  said,  a  sandy  level,  and  the  streets,  or  rather  roads,  arc 
only  such  as  nature  affords  between  the  long  rows  of  \\'ooden 
huts.  In  wet  weather  the  mud  must  be  like  that  which  our 
army  had  to  encounter  in  the  Crimea  between  Balaclava  and 
Sebastopol,  but,  as  it  was  fine  and  dry  Avhen  we  were  there, 
the  great  enemy  was  the  dust.  Here  is  the  most  motley 
crowd  that  congregates  on  the  face  of  the  earth.     '  Parthians, 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND    THE    GREAT  FAIR.    381 

and  Medes,  and  Elamitcs,  and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotam  ia 
and  in  Judaea,  and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  Phrygia 
and  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt,  and  in  the  parts  of  Libya  about 
Cyrenc,  and  strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes  ; '  be- 
sides Turks,  and  Tartars,  and  Persians,  and  Bokharans,  and 
Russians,  and  Frenchmen,  and  Germans,  in  every  variety  of 
costume,  with  hats,  and  caps,  and  caftans,  and  turbans,  and 
fezzes — are  busy  buying  and  selling.  The  dress  of  the 
Russians  is  thus  described  by  George  Tuberville,  who  accom- 
panied Randolph,  Ambassador  to  Muscovy,  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  : — • 

Their  garments  be  not  gay,  nor  handsome  to  the  eye  ; 
A  cap  aloft  their  heads  they  have,  that  standeth  very  hie, 
Which  Colpack  tliey  do  term.     They  weare  no  ruflles  at  all  : 
The  best  have  collars  set  with  perle,  which  they  Rubasco  call. 
Their  shirts  in  Russie  long,  they  worke  them  downe  before, 
And  on  the  sleeves,  with  colour'd  silks,  two  inches  good  and  more. 

There  is  a  perfect  Babel  of  languages,  where,  however,  English 
has  the  Avorst  chance  of  being  understood  by  any  one  you 
may  happen  to  meet.  The  shops  greatly  disappointed  me. 
There  was  hai'dly  an  article  to  be  seen  which  one  would  care 
to  buy  as  a  sonvoiir  of  the  visit.  Amongst  the  retail  wares, 
ironmongery  was  decidedly  most  in  vogue,  and  one  might 
almost  have  fancied  that  Birmingham  was  transplanted  to  the 
banks  of  the  Volga,  so  great  was  the  profusion  of  pots  and 
pans  and  kitchen  utensils  that  everywhere  met  the  eye.  But 
the  souwvar,  the  Russian  tea-urn,  was  the  favourite  article. 
It  is  sold  in  immense  numbers  to  the  Asiatics,  and  finds  its 
way  all  over  the  East.  There  was  abundance  of  trumpery, 
such  as  one  sees  at  a  fair  in  England  ;  and  a  few  pounds 
would  have  been  dearly  spent  in  buying  up  the  whole  of  many 
of  the  stores,  I  made  one  purchase,  which  I  was  glad  soon 
to  get  rid  of  I  happened  to  be  alone,  and  walked  into  a 
fur-shop,  thinking  that  I  might  possibly  meet  with  a  bargain. 
The  owners  could  speak  nothing  but  *  Ruski,'  of  which  I  knew 
nothing.  However,  by  means  of  signs  and  gesticulations,  I 
explained  what  I  wanted,  and  I  made  an  investment  in  a 
double-folded  fur  of  dazzling  whiteness — the  skin  of  some 
polar  animal  as  I  supposed — but  certainly  not  of  a  bear,  for  it 
was  far  too  light  to  have  been  the  co\'ering  of  such  a  brute. 


382  £SSAVS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 

In  fact,  I  was  puzzled  to  know  what  I  had  got,  and  only 
hoped  that  I  had  drawn  a  prize.  I  threw  the  purchase  overmy 
shoulder,  and  was  nearly  covered  with  it,  exciting  some 
surprise  and  laughter  as  I  walked  along,  even  amongst  the 
oddly-dressed  denizens  of  the  Fair.  When  I  reached  the 
railway  station  and  threw  down  my  extempore  cloak,  which 
had  almost  smothered  me,  I  found  that  my  clothes  were  as 
white  as  a  miller's  from  the  powder  that  had  come  off  from  the 
fur ;  and  it  turned  out  to  have  been  made  up  of  rabbit-skins, 
neatly  sewed  together !  I  need  hardly  say  that  I  did  not 
bring  it  with  me  to  England. 

The  wholesale  merchandise  is  stored  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
Fair,  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Volga.  The  most  interest- 
ing part  of  it  is  that  where  the  tea  is  tested  and  sold.'  It  is 
all  brought  overland  from  China,  partly  by  inland  water-car- 
riage, but  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  on  the  backs  of 
horses.  It  is  packed  in  bullock-skins,  and  each  packet  is 
about  the  size  of  a  third  of  a  bale  of  American  cotton.  It 
was  curious  to  see  the  way  in  which  the  quality  of  the  tea  is 
ascertained.  A  tea-j-wr//a',  who  is  .a  thorough  expert  in  the 
trade,  sits  on  a  bale,  and  before  him  a  package  is  brought, 
into  which  a  man  darts  a  long  sharp  iron  instrument  with  a 
hollow  groove,  and  he  draws  out  with  it  a  sample  of  tea,  just 
as  cheese  is  tasted  in  England.  The  tea-smeller  then  puts  it 
to  his  nose,  and,  if  it  is  not  approved  of,  it  is  put  on  one  side 
as  unsaleable  in  the  market.  Of  course  a  great  deal  of  tea  is 
spilt  in  the  process,  but  this  is  afterwards  carefully  swept 
together  and  put  into  packages.  I  went  into  one  of  the  huts 
where  the  tea-accounts  are  kept,  and  where  the  people  con- 
nected with  the  trade  live  during  the  Fair.  It  was  most  care- 
fully matted,  and  dreadfully  close.  I  never  saw  a  place  more 
favourable  for  fleas,  but,  somehow  or  other,  I  escaped  an 
attack. 

Next  to  the  tea  came  the  cotton  from  Bokhara  and  other 
parts,  and  after  that  the  iron,  of  which  there  was  an  immense 
quantity,  and  I  ^\■as  weary  of  walking  along  the  warehouses 
where  it  was  stored.  I  observed  some  Tartars  eating  re- 
markably white  nice-looking  bread,  just  like  the  fancy  bread 
of  Paris  ;  and  taking  a  piece  from  one  of  them,  I  ate  it,  and 
found  it  most  excellent     The  right  bank  of  the  Volga,  along 


VISIT  TO  RUSSIA   AND    THE   GREAT  FAIR.     383 

Avhich  \\c  were  then  strolling,  was  crowded  with  vessels  load- 
ing and  unloading  their  cargoes,  and  there  were  one  or  two 
steamers  which  ply  between  Nijni  Novogorod  and  Kazan  and 
Astrachan.  Some  of  our  party  were  very  busy  in  acquiring 
useful  knowledge  and  filling  their  note-books  with  statistics  of 
the  trade  of  the  Fair,  I  confess  that  I  was  content  with  fill- 
ing my  eye  with  the  strange  scene  around  me,  and  I  am  afraid 
that  I  showed  a  reprehensible  indifference  to  figures,  facts,  and 
calculations.     But  I  hold  with  Wordsworth  : — 

Nor  less  I  deem  that  there  are  Powers 

Which  of  themselves  our  minds  impress, — 

That  we  can  feed  this  mind  of  ours 
In  a  wise  passiveness. 

One  of  the  most  characteristic  parts  of  the  Fair  is  the  long 
wooden  bridge  across  the  Oka,  which  connects  the  alluvial 
plain  with  Novogorod,  perched  aloft  on  the  hill  that  overlooks 
it.  It  is  a  scene  of  indescribable  confusion.  A  swarm  of 
passengers  is  constantly  traversing  it  with  carts,  and  waggons^ 
and  droshkies,  and  horses,  and  donkeys  ;  and  men  are  flog- 
ging, and  swearing,  and  crowding,  and  jostling  along  it  all 
the  day.  A  steep  road  leads  up  from  the  other  side  to  Novo- 
gorod, and  near  the  top  is  an  old  lofty  tower,  which  we 
ascended,  and  had  a  magnificent  view.  We  could  not  see  to 
the  south-east,  as  the  hill  rises  behind  the  tower  and  shuts 
out  the  view  in  that  direction  ;  but  to  the  north-east  and  west 
the  eye  wanders  over  an  immense  space  perfectly  flat,  with, 
the  Volga  winding  on  the  right  and  the  Oka  on  the  left,  each 
hastening  to  meet  the  other  beneath  the  walls  of  Novogorod. 
Below,  the  Fair  was  spread  out  like  a  map,  gay  with  flags 
and  teeming  with  life.  It  is  a  sight  not  to  be  forgotten,  and 
it  will  be  long  before  I  shall  'gaze  upon  its  like  again.' 

We  dined  at  the  railway  station  in  a  private  room — a  party 
of  twelve — and  here  we  tasted  the  famous  sterlet,  served  up 
in  soup.  I  must  say  I  thought  the  merits  of  this  fish  by  no 
means  equal  to  its  reputation.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a  large 
trout,  but  not  equal  to  it,  me  jiediee,  in  flavour.  Incredible 
prices  are  given  for  it  at  St.  Petersburg  at  those  periods  of 
the  year  when  it  is  difficult  to  obtain. 

Not  liking  the  idea  of  sleeping  on  the  boards  of  the  room 
given  up  to  us  at  the  railway  station,  and  as  all  idea  of  beds 


384  ESSAYS    CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE 

anywhere  at  Nijni  Novogorod  was  out  of  the  question,  -we 
determined  to  leave  the  Fair  on  the  night  of  the  day  we 
arrived  there,  and,  short  as  our  stay  was,  I  do  not  think  that 
if  we  had  spent  a  week  there  we  should  have  been  any  the 
wiser,  or  seen  anything  which  would  have  repaid  us  for  the 
discomfort  we  must  have  put  up  with.  In  fact,  I  am  bound 
to  confess,  that  upon  the  whole  the  Fair  was  disappointing, 
and  that  by  going  farther  \\q  fmrd  \\ or sq. 

In  conclusion  I  may  say,  that  I  know  no  countiy  where 
the  traveller  finds  more  courtesy  and  civility  or  less  annoy- 
ance than  in  Russia.  Thanks  to  our  letters  of  introduc- 
tion, wc  received  every  attention,  and  I  can  only  speak  of 
it  in  terms  of  grateful  acknowledgment.  It  would  be  ridi- 
culous to  attempt,  after  such  a  hasty  visit  as  ours,  to  generalise 
on  the  subject  of  customs  and  manners,  for  the  chances  are 
that  one  might  make  the  same  kind  of  mistake  as  the  English- 
man who,  on  his  first  arrival  in  France,  being  waited  upon  by 
a  flaming  chambermaid,  put  down  in  his  pocket-book — 'Mem., 
all  the  women  in  France  have  red  hair.'  But  one  must  speak 
as  one  finds,  and  the  result  of  my  short  experience  is,  that 
there  is  no  pleasanter  country  in  which  to  make  an  autumn 
tour  than  Russland. 


385 


A    VISIT  TO  PORTLAND  PRISON. 

'  Good  Words,'  October,  1S73. 

We  have  visited  many  prisons  at  home  and  abroad.  We 
have  been  admitted  by  an  order  of  the  Prefect  of  the  Seine 
into  the  interior  of  La  Force,  in  the  Rue  de  la  Roquette,  in 
Paris,  where  the  worst  malefactors  are  confined,  and  on  the 
outside  of  which  the  guillotine  is  erected  when  capital  punish- 
ment takes  place.  It  was  there  that  the  atrocious  criminal 
Tropmann,  after  being  sentenced  to  death  for  the  murder  of 
the  Kinck  family,  spent  his  last  days.  It  seems  to  be  well 
conducted,  and  the  convicts  are  all  employed  in  some  trade  ; 
but  we  were  surprised  to  see  a  gang  of  them  walking  round 
one  of  the  yards,  and  smoking  cigars.  This  they  are  allowed 
to  do  for  an  hour  in  the  afternoon.  At  Genoa,  also,  we  saw 
convicts  in  chains  smoking  cigars,  and  were  told  that  all  those 
— and  they  were  numerous — who  wore  red  caps  had  com- 
mitted murders.  They  were  chiefly  from  Sardinia.  We  have 
seen  convicts  at  Moscow  chained  together,  on  their  way  to 
Siberia  ;  and  we  have  visited  the  well-known  prison  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  the  United  States,  where  the  separate  and  silent 
system  is  enforced.  The  cells  are  there  arranged  in  corridors, 
which  radiate  from  a  common  centre,  so  that  a  turnkey  placed 
in  it  can  see  the  whole  of  them  at  once.  We  went  into  several 
of  the  cells,  and  were  allowed  to  converse  with  the  inmates, 
who  never  leave  them  by  day  or  night,  and  occupy  themselves 
with  such  work  as  they  have  taste  or  aptitude  for.  In  one  of 
these  cells  there  was  a  pretty  little  nnirdcrcss,  who  had  killed 
her  husband  and  her  paramour,  and  had  been  sentenced  to 
twenty-three  years'  imprisonment.  Of  these,  five  only  had 
expired.  She  seemed  to  be  very  cheerful,  and  made  no  com- 
plaint. Being  a  Roman  Catholic,  she  had  ornamented  her 
cell  with  a  variety  of  religious  pictures  cut  out  of  blue  paper, 

C  C 


386  ASSAYS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

and  really  had  made  it  look  quite  gay.  We  asked  her  if  she 
was  not  wearying  to  get  out,  but  she  declared  that  she  was 
perfectly  content  to  remain  where  she  was.  In  another  prison 
in  America  we  saw  a  late  member  of  Congress,  who  was  con- 
victed of  some  fraud  or  other.  But  we  do  not  intend  to  relate 
in  this  article  our  experience  of  prisons  in  general,  but  to 
confine  our  attention  to  the  one  we  have  last  visited — the 
well-known  Government  prison  at  Portland,  which  receives 
able-bodied  criminals  who  are  strong  enough  to  work  in  the 
stone  quarries,  and  have  been  sentenced  to  long  periods  of 
penal  servitude. 

Armed  with  an  order  of  admission  from  the  Secretary  of 
State,  we  left  Weymouth  by  the  short  railway  which  runs  to 
Portland,  a  distance  of  about  four  miles,  passing  along  the 
east  side  of  that  curious  ridge  of  rounded  pebbles  called  Chesil 
Beach,  which  forms  a  natural  breakwater  against  the  sea  that 
rolls  into  West  Bay,  and  is  the  western  side  of  the  narrow 
isthmus  that  connects  the  bold  promontory  of  Portland  with 
the  main  land.  This  beach  runs  westward  for  nine  miles,  and 
varies  in  breadth  from  a  half  to  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The 
stones  decrease  gradually  in  size  from  east  to  west,  until  they 
become,  towards  the  western  extremity,  mere  pebbles  and 
broken  shingle.  The  village  of  Portland  begins  at  the  termi- 
nus of  the  railway,  and  is  a  long,  straggling  collection  of  stone 
houses,  which  creep  up  the  steep  ascent,  crowned  by  the 
fortress  and  the  prison.  We  had  to  wind  up  and  round  the 
promontory,  keeping  for  some  time  to  the  right  ;  and,  when 
we  reached  the  top,  had  still  to  walk  for  about  a  mile,  until 
we  came  to  the  gate  of  the  great  prison.  Just  outside  is  the 
Governor's  house,  on  the  other  side  of  the  road — a  well-built 
residence  of  stone,  with  a  pretty  flower-garden.  Under  the 
walls  of  the  prison,  and  on  the  left  side  of  the  road  as  you 
approach,  are  the  houses  of  the  Deputy-Governor,  the  clergy- 
man, the  Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  others — all  built  of 
the  stone  which  constitutes  the  whole  promontory. 

At  the  gate  we  presented  our  order  of  admission,  and  were 
most  courteously  received  by  the  warders,  who  told  us  to  wait 
until  they  took  it  to  the  Governor  inside  the  gaol.  Here  we 
were  joined  by  Captain  S.,  the  Deputy-Governor,  who  kindly 
consented  to  accompany  us  over  the   prison,  and  to  whose 


VISIT  TO   PORTLAND  PRISON.  387 

attentions  we  feel  much  indebted.  We  may  mention  that 
before  we  reached  the  gate,  passing  by  a  long  stone  wall  on 
the  left,  we  saw  a  warder  or  sentry  standing  perched  above 
us,  and  tempted  by  curiosity  we  contrived  to  climb  and  peep 
over  the  wall,  when  we  saw  below  a  large  body  of  convicts  at 
work  in  one  of  the  quarries.  But  we  believe  that  in  doing  this 
we  transgressed  rules,  and  had  a  significant  warning  from  the 
sentry  that  we  must  get  down.  On  entering  the  prison,  we 
saw  two  petrified  trees  resting  against  the  wall  of  a  block  of 
buildings.  These  had  been  found  in  the  quarries,  and  bore 
testimony  to  the  existence  of  pre-historic  vegetation  in  the 
now  barren  and  desolate  spot.  The  first  building  we  explored, 
containing  numerous  cells  in  two  stories  which  communicate 
by  an  open  iron  staircase,  was  of  wood.  It  was  erected  many 
years  ago,  and  was  intended  to  be  only  temporary  ;  but  it  has 
not  yet  been  replaced  by  stone,  and  we  should  think  that 
there  must  be  some  danger  of  fire.  We  need  not,  however, 
say,  that  admirable  precautions  are  taken,  and  no  light  is 
allowed  in  any  of  the  cells  even  at  night,  but  they  are  lighted 
by  means  of  a  little  glass  window  looking  into  the  corridor, 
outside  of  which  a  jet  of  gas  is  kept  burning  for  an  hour  after 
it  becomes  dark.  By  means  of  this  the  inmate  of  the  cell 
is  able  to  read  until  it  is  extinguished.  We  thought  the  cells 
inconveniently  small  and  narrow  ;  in  fact,  they  are  the  smallest 
we  have  ever  seen,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  when  this 
wooden  building  is  pulled  down,  more  roomy  accommodation 
will  be  given  to  the  wretched  prisoners.  The  only  books 
allowed  to  be  read  are  those  of  a  religious  character.  We 
think  that  this  is  a  mistake,  and  may  tend  to  defeat  the  object 
which  we  suppose  is  in  view,  namely,  the  reformation  of  the 
prisoner  ;  for  the  mind  requires  variety  of  food  as  much  as  the 
body,  and  we  fear  that  the  toiijours  pcrd^'ix  of  even  such  a 
subject  as  religion  will  in  the  end  cause  weariness  and  disgust. 
In  the  French  prison,  to  which  we  have  alluded,  there  is  a 
good-  library  of  miscellaneous  literature,  and  we  found  on 
inquiry  that  the  books  most  in  request  amongst  the  convicts 
were  French  translations  of  the  works  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
The  prisoners  get  meat  only  twice  a  week,  on  other  days  bread 
and  tea  or  chocolate,  and  we  think  gruel,  but  we  are  not  sure. 
They  are  entitled  to  a  fixed  weight  of  bread  at  each  meal ; 


388  £SSAKS    CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

and,  to  ensure  fairness  of  supply,  the  loaves  are  weighed  by 
convicts,  whose  duty  it  is  when  any  loaf  is  of  insufficient  weight 
to  stick  on  to  it  a  small  piece  of  bread  by  means  of  a  wooden 
skewer,  and  the  scales  then  show  whether  it  is  of  the  right 
weight.  We  saw  convicts  doing  this  and  getting  through  the 
task  with  remarkable  rapidity.  Formerly  the  allowance  of 
food  was  larger,  and  the  prisoners  had  several  unnecessary 
indulgences,  the  consequence  of  which  was,  that  many  of  them 
reappeared  after  their  discharge,  sentenced  for  fresh  crimes, 
and  they  seemed  to  like  to  return  to  their  old  quarters.  At 
all  events  we  were  assured,  that  since  the  quantity  of  food  has 
been  reduced,  there  have  been  fewer  returns  of  old  'gaol- 
birds' to  the  dreary  precincts  of  Portland  Prison.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  with  the  hard  labour  at  the  quarries  and 
the  keen  air  of  the  lofty  height,  the  appetite  of  the  convicts  is 
great,  and  they  could  eat  a  good  deal  more  than  is  provided 
for  them.  We  have  read  of  plum-puddings  and  feasting  and 
theatricals  in  former  days  at  Norfolk  Island,  but  no  such  folly 
is  permJtted  at  Portland.  There  is  enough  of  wholesome  food 
to  keep  a  man  in  health,  and  that  is  all.  We  visited  the 
kitchen  when  the  evening  tea  was  being  prepared,  and  we 
never  saw  anything  more  beautifully  clean  than  the  large  and 
lofty  room.  The  copper  boilers  shone  like  burnished  gold  ; 
one  of  them  was  full  of  tea,  another  of  chocolate,  getting  ready 
for  next  morning's  breakfast,  and  the  smell  was  most  savoury 
and  inviting. 

We  passed  the  punishment  cells,  all  of  which  were  full.  In 
these  cells  those  convicts  are  placed  who  are  refractory  and 
break  the  rules  of  the  prison  by  refusing  to  work,  or  committing 
minor  offences.  They  are  shut  up  all  day  and  night,  except 
for  one  hour,  when  each  separately  is  allowed  to  walk  round  a 
small  gravelled  court -yard  for  the  sake  of  exercise.  We  believe 
that  the  longest  period  of  this  kind  of  punishment  is  three 
weeks.  But  besides  these  there  are  penal  cells  for  a  worse 
class  of  offenders.  Three  prison  directors  come  from  London 
and  try  the  graver  cases,  and  award  the  punishment.  They 
have  the  power  to  order  a  certain  number  of  lashes  to  be 
inflicted,  and  we  saw  the  bright  steel  triangles  to  which  the 
prisoner  is  tied  while  undergoing  the  sentence.  They  were  in 
what  is  called  the  '  punishment  room,'  and  it  reminded  us  of  a 


VISIT  TO   PORTLAND   PRISON.  389 

beautifully-kept  harness-room.  The  convicts  had  arranged 
the  handcuffs  and  other  instruments  of  coercion  in  symmetrical 
order  along  the  wall,  and  had  formed  with  them  the  figure  of 
a  crown  and  the  letters  V.R.  in  honour  of  Her  Majesty.  We 
should  have  hardly  expected  to  find  the  feeling  of  loyalty 
displayed  in  such  a  place,  but  we  suppose  they  consider 
themselves  emphatically  the  servants  of  the  Crown — at  all 
events  they  are  its  slaves.  When  a  man  is  flogged  only  a  few 
convicts,  and  those  the  worst  disposed,  are  present,  that  they 
may  see  what  they  have  to  expect  if  they  offend  in  like 
manner.  Of  course  when  any  deadly  crime  has  been  committed 
in  the  prison,  such  as  murder  or  attempt  at  murder,  the  culprit 
is  tried  at  the  assizes  in  the  ordinary  way,  and  may  be  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged  or  to  be  kept  in  penal  servitude  for  such 
time  beyond  the  period  of  his  original  sentence  as  the  judge 
may  after  conviction  order. 

The  great  majority  of  the  convicts  work  in  the  quarries, 
and  are  literally  *  hewers  of  stones,'  if  not  '  drawers  of  water  ; ' 
and  they  not  only  hew  the  stone,  but  build  with  it.  The  great 
breakwater  which  protects  Weymouth  Bay  from  the  westerly 
winds  and  waves  is  the  work  of  their  hands  ;  and  they  are 
now  employed  in  finishing  the  wonderfully  strong  fortress 
called  the  Verne  Fort,  immediately  contiguous  to  the  prison, 
which  we  believe  will  occupy  convict  labour  for  fully  eight 
years  to  come.  But  as  everything  that  is  necessary  for  this 
kind  of  work  is  made  within  the  walls  of  the  gaol,  many  of 
them  are  employed  in  the  foundry  or  carpenter's  shop.  W^e 
saw  them  hammering  the  red-hot  iron  and  casting  moulds, 
and  in  fact  distinguished  from  ordinary  workmen  only  by  the 
prison  dress  of  grey  cloth  marked  by  the  broad  arrow,  red 
caps  and  knickerbockers,  and  by  their  striped  stockings,  which 
latter,  as  we  shall  see,  have  more  than  once  been  fatal  to  their 
escape.  We  may  mention  that  the  prison  is  more  than  self- 
supporting,  and  last  year  there  was  a  net  balance  in  its  favour 
of  3,000/.,  after  all  expenses  were  paid.  No  speaking  is  allowed 
beyond  such  as  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  while  we  were  in 
the  prison  we  did  not  hear  a  convict  utter  a  word.  Knowing 
what  desperate  characters  were  there,  we  felt  perhaps  slightly 
uncomfortable  as  we  passed  amongst  them,  while  they  wielded 
in  their  hands  implements  of  which  a  single  blow  would  cause 


390  ESS  A  YS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

instant  death.  The  whole  number  of  prisoners  at  Portland  at 
present  is  sixteen  hundred,  and  there  are  two  hundred  warders 
■ — that  is,  one  warder  to  eight  convicts.  But  there  is  close  at 
hand  a  garrison  of  four  hundred  soldiers  ;  and  riflemen,  with 
loaded  pieces,  stand  here  and  there  on  the  upper  ground  that 
looks  down  upon  the  yards  and  quarries  ;  so  that  resistance  is 
hopeless.  We  wished  to  see  Roupell,  whom  we  had  last  met 
when  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  who  is 
now  employed  as  a  dresser  in  the  hospital  at  Portland.  But 
the  building  was  under  repair,  and  we  were  told  that  a  visit  to 
it  would  not  be  convenient ;  so  that  we  did  not  get  a  sight  of 
this  remarkable  criminal.  The  chapel  is  very  large,  and  divided 
into  separate  compartments  by  wooden  divisions,  in  each  of 
which,  during  the  service,  sit  one  or  two  warders,  on  high 
stools,  so  as  to  have  the  convicts  immediately  under  their  eye. 
Formerly,  the  wives  and  families  of  the  officers  sat  in  the 
gallery;  but  there  has  lately  been  built,  outside  the  walls,  a 
very  handsome  church  of  stone,  for  the  use  of  these  and  others. 
The  Government  gave  the  stone  and  supplied  the  labour,  the 
cost  of  fitting  up  of  the  interior  being  defrayed  by  voluntary 
subscriptions.  Besides  the  large  chapel  we  have  described, 
there  is  a  Roman  Catholic  one,  which  is  much  smaller,  but 
large  enough  for  the  number  of  Roman  Catholic  prisoners,  at 
present  about  three  hundred.  It  is  served  by  a  priest,  of  whom 
we  heard  a  most  excellent  account.  We  believe  that  his  in- 
fluence with  one  of  the  worst  classes  of  convicts,  namely,  the 
Irish  who  have  migrated  to  England,  is  very  great. 

The  Governor  of  the  prison  is  Mr.  Clifton,  who  held  some 
post  of  a  similar  kind  formerly  in  Australia ;  and,  if  we  may 
judge  from  his  manner  and  conversation,  we  should  consider 
him  admirably  qualified  for  his  office.  He  has  a  business 
room  in  the  centre  of  the  gaol,  and  there  he  received  us  and 
showed  us  several  objects  of  interest.  Amongst  them  are  a 
large  handsomely  bound  Bible  and  Prayer-Book,  presented  by 
the  late  Prince  Consort  as  a  memorial  of  a  visit  he  paid  to  the 
prison.  He  wrote  his  name  in  one  of  the  volumes,  with  an 
inscription  in  which  he  expressed  the  interest  he  felt  in  the 
convicts,  *  with  hopes  of  their  amendment'  The  Governor 
also  showed  us  some  little  things  that  had  been  made  sur- 
reptitiously by  prisoners.    One  was  a  small  statuette  of  Samuel 


VISIT  TO   PORTLAND  PRISON.  391 

praying,  executed  with   a   common    nail  out  of  a  piece  of 
granite,  and   exceedingly  well  done.     Another  prisoner  had 
picked  up  some  pieces  of  metal,  fused  them  together  so  as  to 
make  a  kind  of  ics  Corinthiuiii,  which  looked  just  like  gold, 
and  with  this  he  had  made  some  very  neat  breast-pins,  with 
horse-shoe  tops,  and  a  massive  finger-ring.     When  they  were 
discovered  and  taken  from  him  he  said  that  he  had  intended, 
when  his  term  of  sentence  had   expired,  to  sell  them   and 
endeavour  to  obtain  a  livelihood  by  making  similar  articles. 
We  thought  it  a  pity  not  to  encourage  such  tasteful  industry ; 
but  the  rules  of  the  prison  are  inflexibly  strict,  and  no  convict 
is  allowed  to  employ  himself  on  any  work  that  is  not  imposed 
by  the  authorities  of  the  gaol,  and  this  is,  as  we  have  already 
mentioned,  the  hard  labour  of  hewing  stones  and  building  for- 
tresses, walls,  and  houses.  We  saw  also  some  excellent  drawings 
on  slates,  done  by  convicts.     One  of  them  was  a  very  remark- 
able head  of  an  old  prisoner,  which  artists  have  highly  praised. 
But  omnis  effnsus  labor — these  slates  were  confiscated  to  the 
State  like  the  statuette  and  breast-pins.     Some  other  objects 
shown  to  us  were  of  a  different  nature.     These  were  deadly 
weapons  which  had  been  used  by  convicts  in  attempting  the 
lives  of  the  warders  and  officers,  and  they  hung  upon  nails 
by  the  side  of  a  cupboard.     One  of  them  was  a  large  heavy 
flint  stone  wrapped  in  a  pocket-handkerchief,  which  had  been 
twisted  and  knotted  so  as  to  form  a  long  flexible  handle,  and  a 
more  formidable,  death-dealing  instrument  we  never  saw.     It 
had  been  found  on  a  convict,  and  happily  taken  from  him 
before  he  had    an   opportunity  of  using  it.     But  there  were 
heads  and  handles  of  pickaxes  which  had  been  flung  at  warders, 
and  one  of  them  had  narrowly  missed  the  head  of  an  officer 
who  told  us  the  story,  passing  between  him  and  a  warder,  as 
they  stood  near  a  gang  of  convicts  at  work  in  the  quarries. 
Sometimes,  of  course,  the  motive  for  these  deadly  attacks  is 
revenge,  but  sometimes  they  are  prompted  by  mere  wish  for 
change  from  the  dreadful  monotony  of  prison  life.     A  trial  at 
the  assizes,  with   the  certainty  of  increased   punishment,  is 
welcomed  as  a  relief     Not  long  ago  a  convict  whose  term  of 
sentence  was  just  expiring,  and  who,  therefore,  would  very 
soon  be  a  free  man,  attempted  to  kill  one  of  the  warders  ;  but 
we  forget  what  the  consequences  were  to  himself     Another 


392  ASSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

man  lately  flung  the  head  of  a  pickaxe  at  an  officer  whom  he 
had  never  seen  before,  and,  on  being  asked  what  possible  ill- 
will  he  could  bear  against  a  stranger,  he  replied  that  he  did 
not  care  who  he  was,  but  being  tired  of  his  life  he  was  deter- 
mined to  kill  somebody.  This  shows  the  dangers  to  which 
the  prison  officials  are  exposed  ;  but  they  do  their  duty  as 
fearlessly  and  calmly  as  if  they  were  in  perfect  security.  When  a 
man  has  been  convicted  of  any  of  these  violent  offences  in  pri- 
son, and  is  sentenced  to  a  longer  period  of  servitude,  he  is  not 
sent  back  to  Portland,  but  removed  to  a  different  gaol,  which 
is  a  wise  and  necessary  precaution.  Several  Roman  coins  and 
bits  of  pottery  have  been  dug  up  in  the  quarries  and  were 
shown  to  us  by  the  Governor— proving  that  Portland  in 
ancient  times  had  been  occupied  as  a  military  station  by  the 
conquerors  of  the  world. 

Taking  leave  of  the  Governor,  we  passed  through  a  large 
stone  quarry,  and  met  a  gang  of  six  hundred  convicts 
returning  from  the  Verne  Fort  after  the  labours  of  the  day 
were  over,  who  were  going  to  their  evening  tea.  They 
marched  in  detachments,  each  of  which  was  headed  by  a 
warder  carrying  a  truncheon  in  his  hand,  and  as  he  passed 
Captain  S.  he  touched  his  hat  and  called  out,  '  h\\  right  ! 
number  20  ' — '  All  right  !  number  26  ' — or  whatever  the 
number  might  be  of  the  men  under  his  particular  charge. 
We  watched  the  countenances  of  the  convicts,  and  are  bound 
to  say  that  by  far  the  most  of  them  were  of  a  very  repulsive 
type  and  cast,  just  such  as  one  sees  in  the  dock  at  the 
assizes,  and  obviously  belonging  to  the  criminal  and  dangerous 
classes  of  society.  And  yet  we  believe  that  there  were 
amongst  them  at  least  one  clergyman  and  one  who  had  been 
a  lawyer.  But  very  properly  they  were  not  pointed  out  to 
us,  and  indeed  not  a  word  was  spoken  to  or  by  any  of  us  as 
the  mournful  procession  stalked  past.  Some  of  the  men  were 
dressed  in  clothes  one  half  of  which  was  black  and  the  other 
half  grey,  and  this  costume  betokened  that  they  had  been 
guilty  of  assaults  upon  their  warders.  The  proportion  of  the 
convicts  to  the  warders  here  was  about  twenty  to  one.  and  we 
were  thinking  how  soon  the  latter  might  be  overpowered, 
when  on  looking  up  we  saw  riflemen  posted  on  platforms  of 
rock,   who    completely    commanded    the   movements    of  the 


VISIT  TO  FORTLAND  PRISON.  393 

party.  And  besides,  it  is  almost  impossible  that  there  should 
be  any  combination  or  conspiracy,  as  conversation  is  not 
allowed,  and  it  is  certain  that  if  a  sudden  assault  were  made 
by  a  few  desperate  characters  the  majority  would  side  with 
the  authorities  from  considerations  of  self-interest,  if  not  a 
higher  motive.  For  -every  convict,  even  those  who  arc 
sentenced  to  penal  servitude  for  life,  may  earn  a  remission  of 
the  period  of  his  imprisonment,  by  getting  marks  for  good 
conduct.  Whatever  the  term  may  be,  short  of  life-servitude, 
he  can  get  a  fourth  of  his  time  remitted  by  a  certain  number 
of  marks,  which  are  of  course  taken  from  him  in  a  pro- 
portionate rate  for  every  offence  he  commits  in  prison.  In 
the  case  of  life-servitude,  we  believe  that  he  can  work  out  his 
pardon  in  twenty  years,  but  we  are  not  quite  sure  about  this. 
This  is  an  admirable  provision,  and  indeed  without  it  we 
were  assured  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  manage  the 
prison.  To  no  man  who  enters  these  gloomy  portals  is  the 
terrible  line  of  Dante  applicable — 

Vol  cli'  entrate  lasciate  ogni  speranza. 

Without  hope  such  an  existence  would  be  simply  intolerable, 
and  any  kind  of  crimes  would  be  committed,  for  death  by  the 
hangman  would  by  many  be  felt  to  be  preferable  to  hopeless 
misery.  The  great  object  is  to  hold  out  an  inducement  to 
good  conduct,  and  nothing  serves  this  so  effectually  as  the 
consciousness  that  by  behaving  well  the  period  of  imprison- 
ment will  be  shortened. 

We  believe  that  there  have  been  very  few  cases  of  success- 
ful escape,  by  which  we  mean  escape  without  recapture.  But 
convicts  have  more  than  once  contrived  to  get  beyond  the 
walls  of  the  gaol.  Some  years  ago,  before  the  railway  that 
connects  Portland  with  Weymouth  was  in  existence,  the 
communication  with  the  main  land  was  by  means  of  a  ferr}-. 
A  convict  had  got  beyond  the  walls  and  managed  to  change 
his  dress,  but  when  he  presented  himself  at  the  ferry  he  had 
not  a  farthing  to  pay  his  passage,  and  he  therefore  plunged 
into  the  water  to  swim  across.  But  his  stockings  betrayed 
him.  The  ferryman  saw  them,  and  knew  that  he  was  an 
escaped  prisoner.  He  raised  a  hue  and  cry,  and  the  man 
was  soon  caught  and  taken  back   to  his  old  quarters.     Not 


394  J':SSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

very  long  ago  another  convict  contrived  to  make  a  hole  in  the 
floor  of  his  cell,  and  found  that  there  was  beneath  a  disused 
air-hole    which     communicated    with    an    outer    court.     He 
followed   this,   and   eluding  the  observation  of  the  warders, 
climbed  somehow  over  the  wall  and  got  clear  off.     He  then 
broke    into    a    dwelling-house    and    stole    some   food,   and   a 
bottle  of  brandy,  and  cigars,  and  for  a  fortnight  nothing  was   . 
heard  of  him.     But  all  the  time  he  remained  in  Portland,  and 
chose  for  his  place  of  concealment,  of  all  places  in  the  world, 
the  crypt  or  vault  beneath  the  high  altar  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
chapel,  where  he  drank  and  smoked  at  night.     He  remained 
there,   lying  perdu  in   the   daytime,  and  when  it  grew  dark, 
prowled  about  for  food.     In  the  meantime,  people  remarked 
the  offensive  odour  that  issued  from  the  altar,  but  nobody 
thought  of  examining  the  spot.     At  last,  when  the  convict 
had  made  all  his  preparations  for  his  final  escape,  he  deter- 
mined to  try  and  leave  the  promontory  before  daybreak  in 
the  morning.     But  unfortunately  he  drank  too  much  brandy, 
and  overslept  himself     It  was  just  dawn  when  he  started, 
and  as  he  was  passing  down  the  hill  a  boy  who  was  digging 
potatoes   observed   him    pull    up   his   trousers,  and    saw   his 
stockings.     He  gave  the  alarm,  and  the  telegraph  was  set  to 
work.     The    man   was   taken    in   the    course  of  the  day  as 
he  was  walking  on  the  road  between  Weymouth  and  Dor- 
chester. 

Leaving  the  quarry  where  we  met  the  gang  of  convicts 
returning  from  their  work,  we  passed  into  the  Verne  Fort, 
which,  when  finished,  will  be  one  of  the  largest  and  strongest 
fortresses  in  Britain,  with  bomb-proof  casements  and  covered 
galleries,  along  which  soldiers  can  march  from  one  point  to 
another  without  being  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  It 
has  been  built  entirely  by  convict  labour,  and  will  require 
some  years  yet  to  complete.  The  Royal  arms  over  the 
principal  gateway,  however,  were  executed  by  military 
engineers,  and  it  is  a  subject  of  some  merriment  that  it  is  the 
only  part  of  the  work  that  seems  to  have  been  badly  done  ; 
for  the  hind  feet  of  the  lion  and  the  unicorn  rest  upon 
nothing,  and  the  unhappy  animals  cling  to  the  shield  by 
their  tails  ! 

We  wish  that  any  one  meditating  a  crime  could  first  be 


VISIT  TO   PORTIAND  PRISON.  395 

taken  to  Portland  and  see  the  kind  of  life  that  is  before  him 
there,  if  he  enters  it  as  a  prisoner.  Without  companionship 
in  that  host  of  felons — in  silence  and  in  miser}^—  he  must  go 
forth  to  do  his  daily  toil  with  the  pickaxe  in  his  hand.  The 
dull  monotonous  sound  of  iron  hammering  against  stone  will 
fall  upon  his  ear  day  after  day,  week  after  week,  month  after 
month,  and  year  after  year.  He  must  labour  like  a  brute 
under  the  eye  of  his  master  from  morn  till  eve,  and  \\'hcn 
darkness  begins  to  fall  he  must  march  back  to  his  lonely 
cell — bare,  and  cold,  and  comfortless  —  tortured  by  the 
thought  of  the  crime  he  has  committed,  and  the  liberty  he 
has  lost.  How  wearily  the  days  must  pass  !  How  he  must 
realise  the  bitterness  of  the  curse,  '  In  the  morning  thou  shalt 
say.  Would  God  it  were  even !  and  at  even  thou  shalt  say, 
Would  God  it  were  morning  !  for  the  fear  of  thine  heart 
wherewith  thou  shalt  fear,  and  for  the  sight  of  thine  eyes 
which  thou  shalt  see.' 

Quam  vellent  rethere  in  alto 


Pauperiemque  pati,  et  duros  perferre  labores  ! 

Here,  as  convicted  felons,  have  clerygmen,  and  lawyers, 
and  bankers,  and  merchants  herded  with  burglars  and 
murderers,  and  men  whose  whole  existence  has  been  a  life 
of  crime.  No  difference  is  made  amongst  them — all  distinc- 
tion of  previous  rank  and  station  is  as  much  lost  as  in  the 
grave ;  the  convicts  are  known  by  their  numbers  and  not  by 
their  names,  and  w^ien  the  gates  close  upon  them,  their  past 
lives  are  buried  in  oblivion.  They  have  outraged  society,  and 
society  has  exacted  a  terrible  retribution. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  only  say  that  we  never  visited  a 
prison  more  exquisitely  clean  and  orderly  than  Portland,  nor 
one  where  the  necessary  discipline  seems  to  be  more  strictly 
kept  with  as  much  kindness  as  is  compatible  with  the  stern 
demands  of  duty. 


396  £SSAVS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 


THREE  DA  YS  IN  SARK. 

'  Fraser's  Magazine,'  January,  1874. 

Amongst  the  Channel  Islands  by  far  the  most  interesting  to 
our  mind  is  Sark.  No  one  who  looks  from  the  sea  on  its 
rock-bound  coast,  and  sees  before  him  only  a  lofty  and 
apparently  a  desolate  platform,  with  a  solitary  windmill  on 
the  highest  point  of  the  island,  can  form  any  idea  of  its  hidden 
beauties,  its  retired  dells,  its  exquisite  coves  and  bays,  its 
caves,  its  tunnels,  and  its  craix.  A  flying  visit  in  an  excursion 
steamer,  with  a  crowd  of  tourists,  when  the  traveller  goes  and 
returns  on  the  same  day,  and  devotes  part  of  it  to  the  necessary 
demands  of  lunch  or  dinner,  is  nol  the  way  to  see  Sark.  She 
conceals  her  charms  like  a  coy  beauty,  and  reveals  them  only 
to  those  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  explore  them.  We  had 
often  heard  of  the  wonders  of  her  caves,  and  the  treasures  of 
marine  zoology  to  be  found  in  their  deep  recesses  ;  and  being 
at  Guernsey  we  determined  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  quietly  and  leisurely  devoting  two  or  three  days  to 
a  ramble  over  the  little  islet. 

Sark  lies  opposite  to  St.  Peter's  Port,  the  capital  of  Guern- 
sey, due  east,  and  is  distant  about  six  miles.  Midway  between 
them  are  the  two  islands  of  Herm  and  Jethou,  divided  by  a 
dangerous  channel,  which  it  is  only  safe  to  take  in  fine 
weather  and  with  a  flowing  tide.  Herm  is  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  length,  and  half  a  mile  in  breadth,  abounding  in  rabbits, 
and  famous  for  its  beach  of  shells  on  the  north  side,  which 
might  rival  the  shelly  shore  of  Ascension  Island  in  the  Atlan- 
tic. We  saw  before  we  left  London  an  advertisement  that 
Herm  was  to  be  sold  by  public  auction,  but  we  believe  that  it 
was  bought  in,  and  has  since  been  disposed  of  by  private 
contract.  The  owner  will  have  a  good  house  there,  and  live 
the  lord  of  a  population  amounting  to  twenty  or  thirty  souls. 


THREE  DA  YS   IN  SARK. 


397 


Jcthou  is  still  smaller — a  mere  molehill  of  an  island — in  which 
we  think  there  is  only  one  house  ;  and  there  is  neither  pier 
nor  harbour,  so  that  landing  is  always  difficult,  and  sometimes 
dangerous.  Like  Herm,  Jethou  swarms  with  rabbits.  A 
boatman  told  us  that  last  year  he  made  a  contract  with  the 
owner  of  Herm  for  rabbits  at  \od.  each,  and  took  7,000  over 
to  Guernsey,  where  he  sold  them  for  \\d.  ?i  piece,  so  that  he 
cleared  about  30/.  by  the  bargain. 

We  crossed  from  Guernsey  to  Sark  in  an  open  two-masted 
boat,  belonging  to  William  Purday,  whose  name  we  gladly  re- 
commend as  that  of  an  excellent  seaman  and  thoroughly  good 
fellow.  We  had  a  fair  breeze,  but  hardly  enough  of  it,  and 
taking  the  channel  between  Herm  and  Jcthou  made  the 
passage  to  Sark  in  an  hour  and  a  half.  We  had  to  give  a 
wide  berth  to  the  ugly  rocks  that  guard  the  north  end  of  the 
island,  opposite  those  wonderful  caves  called  Lcs  Boutiques, 
of  which  v.-e  shall  say  more  by-and-by.  We  landed  at  a  place 
called  Eperqueries,  on  the  north-east  side,  having  to  get  into 
a  cockle-shell  of  a  boat,  for  our  two-masted  lugger  was  too 
large  to  venture  amongst  the  hidden  rocks.  Here  a  rough 
path  leads  winding  up  the  cliff,  and  we  reached  a  heathy 
summit,  w^iich  reminded  us  of  many  parts  of  the  west  coast  of 
Scotland,  and  then  struck  into  the  main  road,  which  runs  in  a 
straight  line  on  the  top  from  north  to  south,  the  length  of  th.e 
whole  island  being  little  more  than  three  miles,  and  the 
average  breadth  about  a  mile.  There  is  not  much  to  attract 
the  eye  on  the  surface.  The  fields  and  hedges  and  trees  are 
very  like  those  in  Guernsey  and  Jersey,  and  there  are  the 
same  peculiarities,  namely  that  the  fields  have  no  gates,  but  only 
trunks  of  trees  or  logs  of  wood  to  bar  the  passage  ;  and  the 
cattle  are  always  tethered  by  a  rope  fastened  to  a  wooden  or 
iron  pin,  which  is  driven  into  the  ground  by  a  mallet,  and 
forms  quite  an  occupation  for  some  of  the  maidens  of  the 
island.  We  may  mention  in  passing  that  the  breed  of  cows 
is  the  same  as  in  Alderney  and  Jersey,  and  they  are  invariably 
distinguished  from  those  of  Guernsey  by  their  black  noses, 
while  those  of  Guernsey  are  white.  There  is  a  penalty  of 
500/.  for  bringing  any  foreign  breed  into  Jersey,  and  we  sup- 
pose the  same  prohibition  exists  in  Alderney  ;  but  we  did 
not  visit  that  island,  which  it  is  not  very  easy  to   get  away 


398  ESSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

from  if  the  weather  becomes  rough.  We  followed  the  Sark 
road,  and  went  past  the  church  and  gate  of  the  Seigneurie,  of 
which  we  will  speak  hereafter.  We  then  turned  to  the  left 
and  descended  into  a  wooded  dell,  where  lies  snugly  ensconced 
amongst  the  trees  a  most  comfortable  little  inn,  called  by  the 
more  ambitious  name  of '  Gavey's  Dixcart  Hotel.'  There 
we  took  up  our  quarters  and  lived  in  clean  rooms  and  on  ex- 
cellent fare.  The  charges  were  very  moderate,  including  bed, 
breakfast,  luncheon,  and  a  table  d'hote  dinner  at  6  o'clock. 
There  is  one  other  inn  in  the  island,  called  Bel  Air,  kept  by 
Vaudin,  which  looked  very  clean,  and  is  well  spoken  of,  but  it 
is  not  so  prettily  situated  as  the  Dixcart  Hotel.  A  post  office 
lugger-boat  sails  every  morning  early  for  Guernsey,  and 
brings  the  letters  in  the  afternoon,  together  with  supplies  of 
provisions,  so  that  there  is  always  plenty  to  be  had  ;  and  we 
need  not  say  that  there  is  abundance  of  fish.  We  saw 
amongst  the  books  on  the  table  in  the  sitting-room  a  Greek 
Odyssey,  with  an  English  prose  translation,  from  which  we 
correctly  inferred  that  some  collegians  had  chosen  this  place 
for  their  vacation  reading-party  to  study  in.  There  is 
a  charming  walk  down  Baker's  Valley  to  Dixcart  Bay,  with 
its  stony  beach  walled  in  by  lofty  rocks.  A  large  rock  jutting 
into  the  sea,  at  high  water  shuts  out  the  view  on  the  right ; 
but  through  this  rock  there  is  a  tunnel  formed  by  nature,  and 
passing  through  it  we  come  to  another  little  cove,  which  is 
quite  inaccessible  from  above,  as  the  cliffs  tower  up  almost 
perpendicularly.  We  have  sat  on  the  pebbly  beach  of  Dix- 
cart Bay  by  moonlight,  and,  had  we  been  poetical,  we  know 
no  scene  more  likely  to  have  inspired  our  muse.  Happily, 
however,  the  only  afflatus  we  felt  was  the  soft  breeze  from  the 
sea,  and  we  were  almost  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  sound  of  the 
waves  rolling  lazily  along  the  shore — 

Raking  the  rounded  flints  wliicli  ages  past 
Rolled  by  their  rage,  and  shall  for  ages  last. 

Sark  is  divided  into  two  parts,  Great  ajnd  Little  Sark,  and 
the  connecting  link  between  them  is  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  Island.  It  is  called  La  Coupee,  and  is  a  curious  freak  of 
nature.  The  sea  on  the  eastern  and  western  sides  has  here 
eaten  into  the  land,  so  as  to  leave  only  a  mere  wall  of  earth 


THREE   DAYS  IN  SARK. 


399 


and  rock  between  the  two  divisions  of  the  island,  and  this 
wall,  which  is  broader  at  the  base,  narrows  towards  the  top 
until  there  is  a  space  left  to  walk  upon  which  is  just  broad 
enough  to  admit  a  country  cart,  with  no  wall  or  balustrade  to 
protect  the  traveller  ;  and  on  each  side  there  is  a  precipitous 
descent  of  rock  for  more  than  loo  feet,  with  the  sea  roaring 
like  a  hungry  tiger  for  its  prey.  Not  long  ago  the  passage 
was  still  narrower,  and  not  more  than  three  or  four  feet  broad  ; 
but  the  top  has  either  been  cut  down  or  has  crumbled  away, 
so  as  to  leave  the  width  we  have  mentioned.  Even  now  we 
should  not  like  to  cross  it  in  a  gale  of  wind  ;  and  a  traveller 
we  met  at  Sark  told  us  that  when  he  did  so  he  crawled  on  his 
hands  and  knees.  It  is  about  450  feet  long.  A  story  is  told 
of  a  man  who  lived  in  Little  Sark,  and  used,  when  he  visited 
his  friends  in  the  northern  or  larger  division  of  the  island,  to 
indulge  in  drinking  until  his  legs  became  rather  shaky. 
Knowing  that  he  must  pass  along  the  Coupee,  and  fearful  of 
his  equilibrium,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  trying  first  the  experi- 
ment of  walking  backwards  and  forwards  along  a  rusty  old 
cannon  which  lay  on  the  ground,  and  if  he  found  himself 
steady  enough  to  accomplish  this  feat  without  falling,  he 
ventured  to  set  off  on  his  passage  across  the  Coupee.  Not 
very  long  ago  another  man,  who  was  carrying  a  load  of  straw 
over  it  on  a  windy  night,  was  blown  away,  and  of  course 
dashed  to  pieces.  Even  with  its  present  increased  breadth, 
we  think  it  requires  some  little  nerve  to  cross  this  natural 
bridge  where  there  is  no  parapet,  and  hear  the  sea  thunder- 
ing below.  In  Little  Sark,  at  the  southern  extremity,  on  a 
declivity  sloping  down  to  the  rocky  shore,  are  Ics  Mines,  the 
monument  of  a  mining  failure  some  years  ago.  A  vein  of 
silver  had  been  discovered  in  the  rocks  by  a  man  shooting- 
rabbits,  and  a  company  was  formed  to  work  it ;  but,  what  with 
the  difficulty  of  drainage  and  other  causes,  the  speculation  was 
abandoned  after  a  gallery  had  been  driven  three  hundred  feet 
under  the  sea,  and  '  Sark's  Hope  '  has  since  been  considered 
hopeless.  It  was  melancholy  to  see  the  roofless  huts  and 
ruined  walls  that  had  sheltered  the  miners,  and  one  shuddered 
to  look  down  a  great  yawning  chasm  which  we  suppose  had 
been  a  shaft,  although  it  was  almost  too  irregular  in  shape  to 
be  the  work  of  man.     Not  far  off  there  is  a  curious  shaft  of 


400  ASSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Nature's  own  forming  called  le  Pot,  which  is  by  no  means  easy 
of  access.  You  come  to  the  side  of  the  cliff  and  see  what 
by  courtesy  is  called  a  path,  descending  in  zig-zag  windings 
througrh  heath  and  bracken  and  brushwood  until  it  dwindles 
to  a  mere  thread,  where  a  slip  would  be  fatal.  But  the  worst 
is  to  follow.  The  path  suddenly  becomes  exceedingly  steep, 
and  we  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  down  until  we  came  to 
a  vast  round  hole,  separated  from  the  shore  by  walls  of  rock, 
at  the  bottom  of  which  is  an  arched  tunnel,  through  which 
the  sea  rushes  at  high  water,  and  fills  a  great  part  of  the  hole. 
When  a  storm  is  raging,  it  must  be  a  grand  sight  to  see  the 
Avater  seething  and  boiling  in  this  gigantic  pot.  At  low  water 
it  is  possible  to  scramble  down  to  the  bottom  ;  but  we  did 
not  venture,  for  we  thought  we  had  sufficiently  risked  life  and 
limb  in  getting  to  the  edge  and  looking  down.  But  this  is 
nothing  of  a  pot  compared  vvith  another  called  Lc  Crcitx 
Terrible,  which  seems  to  be  fitly  named  ;  but  we  believe  its 
proper  appellation  is  Le  Crcnv  Derrible — dcrrible  being  an 
old  French  word  for  a  fallen  mass  of  rock,  which  has  very 
naturally  been  corrupted  into  terrible.  This  crcitx  is  in  a  field 
on  the  east  side  of  Sark  close  to  the  shore,  and  absolutely 
without  any  kind  of  fence  or  barrier.  It  is  a  huge  natural 
shaft,  or  chimney,  of  immense  size,  and  perfectly  round,  open- 
ing out  on  a  sloping  declivity,  with  sides  of  vertical  naked 
rock,  and  from  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  rim  fully  1 50  feet 
deep.  It  made  one  feel  giddy  to  look  down.  At  the  bottom 
thereare  two  tunnels  communicatingwiththe  shore,  and  through 
them  the  sea  rushes  when  the  tide  flows.  No  power  on  earth 
could  save  any  one  who  was  caught  there  at  such  a  time.  The 
spray  is  tossed  up  almost  to  the  surface  when  the  wind  is  high, 
and  we  can  hardly  conceive  a  more  frightful  sight  than  to 
watch  the  water  boiling  and  roaring  in  the  black  crater. 
Instead  of  the  fury  of  fire,  there  is  the  fury  of  water ;  and 
instead  of  jets  of  flame,  white  foam  and  spray.  It  is  not  very 
easy  to  understand  how  it  has  been  fornicd,  but  most  probably 
there  has  been  some  sinking  at  the  surface,  and  the  sea, 
breaking  in  through  the  tunnels  below,  has  gradually  under- 
mined the  earth,  and  at  last  swept  it  away,  leaving  only  the 
rocky  sides  that  enclosed  it. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  island,  facing  Guernsey,  there  is 


THREE  DAYS  IN  SARK.  401 

some  grand  scenery,  or  rather  we  should  say  that  the  whole 
of  it  is  grand.  There  is  the  little  island  of  Brechou  or  Isle  des 
Marchands,  separated  from  the  main  land  of  Sark  by  a  narrow 
strait  about  eighty  yards  wide,  called  ks  Goidiots,  where  the 
tide  runs  furiously.  The  beetling  rocks  on  each  side  frown 
upon  each  other,  and  at  a  little  distance  seem  to  close,  and 
yet  an  English  frigate  in  the  French  Revolutionary  War,  once 
when  chased  by  two  French  ships  of  superior  strength,  passed 
safely  through  it.  Her  yards  are  said  to  have  grazed  the  rocks 
on  each  side.  The  captain  had  got  hold  of  a  fisherman,  and 
told  him  he  would  drown  him  if  he  did  not  pilot  the  vessel 
through.  Here  also  a  large  East-Indiaman  w^as  dashed  to 
pieces  some  years  ago  ;  but  indeed  the  name  Isle  des  Mar- 
cJiands  is  supposed  to  have  been  given  to  the  rock  from  the 
number  of  merchantmen  that  have  been  wrecked  there.  Oppo- 
site to  it  are  the  Gouliot  caves,  consisting  of  two  vaulted 
chambers,  out  of  which  a  number  of  fissures  open  :  through 
these  the  sea  flows  when  the  tide  rises,  and  they  can  be  only 
visited  at  low  water.  In  one  cave  where  we  took  shelter  from 
the  rain  the  walls  were  covered  with  sea-anemones,  black, 
green,  and  blue ;  they  cling  to  the  rock  with  wonderful  tenacity, 
soft  and  pulpy  to  the  touch,  and  were  just  like  half-marbles  or 
breast-pins  studding  the  sides  of  the  cave  in  countless  profu- 
sion. We  never  before  were  in  such  a  perfect  abode  of  the 
Nereids,  and  for  aught  we  know  those  sea-nymphs  use  the 
anemones  as  jewels  for  their  hair. 

To  the  south  of  these  caves  is  the  lovely  Havre  de  Gosselin, 
a  deeply  indented  cove,  with  no  semblance  of  a  beach,  where 
the  fishermen  dry  their  nets  and  place  their  lobster  baskets  on 
the  rocks.  To  get  down  to  it  is  not  difiicult  nor  dangerous 
by  means  of  a  zig-zag  path,  and  the  exquisite  view  well  repays 
the  trouble  of  the  descent  and  the  fatigue  of  the  ascent.  On  the 
heights  above  stands  an  obelisk  of  granite  which  commemorates 
a  sad  catastrophe.  One  evening  in  October,  186S,  a  party, 
consisting  of  Mr.  Jeremiah  Pilcher,  two  brothers  named 
Giffard,  and  Dr.  Gatehouse,  accompanied  by  a  boatman  named 
Renouf,  set  off  in  an  open  boat  to  cross  to  Guernsey.  They 
were  warned  that  it  was  too  late  to  start,  and  the  sea  was 
dangerous,  but  they  determined  to  venture.  None  of  them 
were  afterwards  seen  alive,  nor  was  it  known  for  some  da}-s 

])  ]) 


40  2  £SSA  VS  CRITIC  A  L  A  iVD  NA  RRA  JIVE. 

that   they  had  perished,   for  it  was  supposed  that  they  had 
reached  Guernsey  in   safety.       The  boat  was  found  on  th- 
coast  of  France,  and  the  body  of  Mr.  Pilcher  at  the  Isle  of 
Wight ;  another  body  was  cast  ashore  at  Herm,  but  the  three 
others  were  never  found.     The  obehsk  was   erected  by  the 
widow  of  Mr.  Pilcher,  and    it   bears   a  touching  inscription, 
with  the  names  of  the  sufferers.      In  March,  1839,  the  then 
Seigneur  of  Sark,  Mr.  Le  Pelley,  a  Jurat  of  the  Court  of  Guern- 
sey, was  drowned,  with  his  boat's  crew,  in  sight  of  the  in- 
habitants  off   the    shore,    just   after   he   had    embarked    for 
Guernsey,  being  caught   by  a  gale  of  wind.      The  present 
clergyman  of  the  island  witnessed  the  catastrophe,  and  we 
were  assured  that  he  has  never  ventured  on  the  water  since. 

A  little  to  the  north  of  the  Havre  de  Gosselin  is  the  Moie 
de  Mouton,  boldly  jutting  out  into  the  sea,  and  separated 
from  the  main  land  by  a  narrow  fissure,  cleft  as  it  were  by  a 
hatchet.     The  remains  of  a  wall  on  each  side  of  the  abyss 
show  that  this  mass  of  rock  once  formed  part  of  the  island, 
but  by  some  convulsion  of  nature  it  has  been  torn  off,  and  the 
sea  rages  between.    There  is  a  cave  in  it  which  is  only  accessible 
by  a  boat,  and  we  did  not  visit  it.     On  this  rock,  as  there  is 
some  scanty  herbage  at  the  top,  a  few  sheep  are  landed,  and 
when  the  owner  wants  mutton  he  goes  out  in  a  boat  and  fires 
at  one  of  the  sheep,  which  if  killed,  rolls  down  the  cliff  into 
the  sea  and    is   picked  up  by  the  boat.     Still  farther  to  the 
north  stand  Ics  Autclets,  the  Altars,  two  grand  fantastic  rocks, 
fit  shrines  for  the  worship  of  Neptune  or  yEolus,  or  whoever 
may  be  the  King  of  Storms.     A  guide-book  assures  us  that 
'  at  their  base  in  chaotic  confusion  lie  gigantic  blocks  of  every 
shape  and  hue,  their  surface  rounded  by  the  action  of  the 
waves  ;   and  between  them  are  pools  tinged  with  red,  green, 
and  purple  algae,  and  alive  with  mollusca  and  Crustacea.'    They 
are  the  favourite  haunts  of  the  sea-gulls,  more  so  than  the 
'  Sea-Gull  Chapel,'  on  the  east  coast,  which  has  the  exact  ap- 
pearance of  a  low  gable  roof.     It  is  hollow  and  can  be  visited 
at  low  water,  but  when  the  tide  rises  the  water  fills  its  dark 
recess,  and  no  tourist  or  traveller  can  pay  his  orisons  there. 

We  are  now  going  to  speak  of  Ics  Boutiques,  of  which,  as 
we  carefully  explored  them,  we  shall  give  a  more  detailed 
description.     Our  party  consisted  of  five — ourselves,  Mr.  and 


THREE   DA  YS   IN  SARK.  403 

Mrs.  B.,  their  youthful  son,  and  a  capital  guide  named  De 
Carteret,  an  historical  name  in  the  Channel  Islands,  and  a  man 
whom  we  can  most  conscientiously  recommend  to  any  one  who 
wants  a  cicerone  in  Sark.  The  caves  called  the  Boutiques  He 
at  the  extreme  north-west  point  of  the  island,  and  to  get  to 
them,  to  say  nothing  of  getting  through  them,  is  a  work  of  no 
small  d!fficult}\  After  walking  over  a  barren  upland  at  the 
top  of  the  cliffs  we  came  suddenly  to  a  turn  on  the  left,  where 
we  were  told  we  must  descend.  But  where,  and  how  .''  All  we 
could  see  before  us  was  an  almost  perpendicular  descent  with 
the  sea  at  the  bottom.  However,  there  zoas  the  sign  of  a  path, 
but  the  weather  had  been  wet  and  the  stones  were  slippery, 
and  altogether  it  seemed  to  be  a  very  vmiivais  pas.  When 
half  way  down,  Mrs.  B.,  although  one  of  the  most  dauntless 
climbers  we  ever  knew,  had  enough  of  it  and  declined  to  go 
farther  ;  Vv-e  therefore  left  her  to  await  our  return,  and,  carefully 
picking  our  way,  at  last  reached  the  bottom  with  the  sea  at 
our  feet  and  lofty  cliffs  rising  perpendicularly  above  us  on  each 
side.  It  seemed  to  be  a  complete  trap — and  where  were  the 
caves  }  On  looking  up  towards  the  right  we  saw  some  twenty 
feet  above  us  a  large  dark  hole,  and  this  was  the  entrance.  To 
scramble  up  was  no  easy  task,  and  when  we  reached  the 
mouth  we  looked  down  into  a  dark  abyss,  in  which  were 

Crags,  rocks,  and  knolls  confusedly  hurled, 
Like  fragments  of  an  earlier  world. 

To  get  up,  we  have  said,  v.-as  no  easy  task,  but  it  was  almost 
as  difficult  to  get  down.  And  then  we  had  to  pick  our  way 
amongst  the  rocks  and  boulders  in  a  state  of  twilight  darkness, 
until  we  came  to  a  mere  fissure,  which  our  guide  told  us  led  to 
the  cave  !  So  that  we  were  only  in  the  vestibule  of  the  rock- 
hewn  temple  which  we  had  come  to  visit.  We  ought  to  mention 
that  in  addition  to  ourselves  we  had  with  us  a  dog  from  the 
inn — half  spaniel,  half  retriever,  who  answered  to  the  name  of 
Coie,  and  who  obviously  had  never  entered  such  an  infernal 
place  before,  and  by  his  howls  and  perplexity  caused  us  con- 
siderable amusement.  On  we  went,  blundering  through  the 
dark  fissure  until  we  came  to  a  cross  tunnel  communicating 
on  the  left  hand  with  the  sea,  and  by  means  of  this  we  gained 
a  little  more  light.     Right  before  us  yawned  a  lofty  cavern, 

D  D  2 


404  JSSSAYS  CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

M'hich   is  fully  more  than  a  hundred  yards  long,  and  at  the 
extremity  we   could  see   the  glimmering  of  day.      This  was 
the  cavern — the  veritable  shop  which  gives  Ics  Boutiques  their 
name,  and  if  the  pun  may  be  excused  we  never  intend  to  go 
*  shopping '  there  again.     Our  guide  struck  a  light,  and  held  a 
tallow  candle  in  his  hand  ;  but  the  wind  soon  extinguished  it, 
and  we  had  to  prowl  forward  in  the  darkness.     Huge  stones, 
or   rather  rocks,   constantly  blocked  the  road,  and  round  or 
over   these  we  were  obliged    to  grope  our  way,  sometimes 
splashing  into  water  left  by  the  tide  over  shoe  tops,  or  halfway 
up  to  the  knees,  and  expecting  every  moment  to  fall  headlong 
into  some  deep  pool  or  nasty  hole.     In  the  meantime  Coie 
was  howling  piteously  in  our  rear,  and  more  than  once  our 
guide  had  to  go  back  to  lift  the  poor  brute  over  some  opposing 
obstacle  which  he  had  vainly  endeavoured  to  climb.     At  last 
we  reached  the  extremity  of  the  tunnel  through  which  we  had 
been  floundering,  and  had  the  open  sea  before  us,  with  appa- 
rently no  possible  means  of  climbing  up  from  the  mouth  of 
our  prison,  for  the  cliffs  rose  almost  vertically  on  each  side, 
and  the  distance  between  them  was  only  a  few  feet.    Here  was 
a  dilemma  !     If  we  waited  for  the  rising  of  the  tide  we  should 
infallibly  be  drowned,  for  the  sea  rushes   like  a  race-horse 
through  the  cave  we  had  just  traversed,  and  we  had  no  in- 
clination to  turn  back    and  encounter  the  same  difficulties 
again.     Our  guide  told  us  that  we  could  get  up  the  cliff,  and 
he  went  forward  to  try  and  find  the  least  perilous  ascent,  com- 
forting us  with  the  assurance  that  if  we  did  fall,  in  the  way  he 
was  about  to  show  us,  we  should  not  be  so  much  injured  as  if 
we  tried  to  climb  by  what  seemed  to  be  a  shorter  scramble. 
He  disappeared  for  a  short  time  behind  a  rock,  and  then  called 
upon  us  to  follow  him.     We  then  began  to  cling  to  ledges  of 
rock,  and  put  our  feet  on  projecting  knobs,  and  sometimes 
lying  flat  on  the  shelving  surface,  wriggled  forward  like  toads 
in  a  slanting  direction  upwards,  until  with  infinite  difficulty  we 
clambered  to  some  sloping  ground  which  led  gradually  to  the 
summit.     We  think  a  cat  might  have  been  proud  of  the  feat, 
and  poor  Coie  would  certainly  have  failed  if  he  had  not  been 
pulled  and  hauled  and  shoved,  piteously  howling  all  the  while. 
We  shall  never  forget  how,  as  we  emerged  from  the  cave,  and 


THREE   DAYS  IN  SARK.  405 

he  came  following  us,  his  eyes  glared  like  demon  lights  in  the 
darkness,  as  if  they  belonged  to  the  Evil  One  hiaiself. 

A  very  different  scene  is  the  Seigneurie  in  the  middle  of 
the  Island,  the  residence  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Collings,  the  Lord 
of  Sark.  We  walked  through  the  grounds  on  our  way  from 
the  Gouliot  caves,  and  were  charmed  with  their  beauty.  It 
is  quite  a  little  Paradise,  lying  like  an  oasis  amidst  flowers 
and  plants  and  trees,  which  grow  there  in  luxuriant  profusion. 
The  house  is  substantially  built  of  stone  in  the  Tudor  style 
and  covered  with  creepers.  We  never  saw  lovelier  nor  better 
kept  gardens.  The  walls  were  loaded  with  fruit,  peaches  and 
nectarines  and  plums,  and  the  parterres  Avere  blazing  with 
geraniums  and  myrtles  and  fuchsias.  There  is  an  old  fish- 
pond which  once  belonged  to  an  ancient  monastery,  and  shady 
walks  lead  down  to  the  coast  on  the  west.  On  a  lawn  near 
the  house  there  is  a  miniature  battery  of  guns,  and  amongst 
the  r.  a  small  brass  cannon  which  bears  the  inscription  Don  dc 
la  Reync  Elizabeth  an  Seigneur  de  Sereq,  A.D.  1 573.  Certainly, 
whoever  wished  for  a  retreat  from  the  world's  noise  and  tur- 
moil could  not  choose  a  more  delightful  spot.  We  heard 
that  it  may  be  bought,  together  with  the  whole  island,  but 
cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this. 

Although  we  landed  at  the  Eperquerics,  which  means 
'  Harvest  of  dried  fish,'  this  is  not  the  place  where  the  excur- 
sion steamer  disembarks  her  passengers.  That  is  at  a  fairy 
little  harbour  which  has  recently  been  constructed  farther 
south,  and  is  called  the  Creux.  To  get  to  it  from  the  land 
side  you  have  the  choice  of  two  tunnels  through  the  rock,  one 
of  which  is  as  old  as  the  seventeenth  century,  but  the  other 
was  made  a  few  years  ago  to  give  a  more  convenient  access 
to  the  pier.  In  the  tiny  basin,  completely  sheltered  from  the 
wind,  lie  the  boats  which  take  off  the  passengers  to  and  from 
the  steamer,  that  is  fastened  to  a  buoy  outside.  Were  it  not 
for  the  tunnels  it  would  be  impossible  to  pass  from  the  shore 
into  the  interior,  as  the  lofty  cliffs  completely  enclose  the  bay 
on  all  sides.  Sark  in  fact  is  only  accessible  at  one  or  two 
points,  and  it  may  be  said  of  her  as  truly  as  of  I^ritannia 
that  she 

— — needs  no  huhvaik, 

She  wants  no  guarded  steep  ; 


4o6  /ASSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

for  Nature  has  thrown  around  her  an  impregnable  barrier  of 
rocks.  A  few  years  ago  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  intend- 
ing to  visit  Sark  were  unable  to  find  the  landing-place,  and 
actually  sailed  past  it,  without  seeing  the  tunnel— then  only 
one — which  indicated  the  passage  from  the  shore. 

We  do  not  profess  to  be  naturalists  nor  versed  in  marine 
zoology,  but  even  a  traveller  ignorant  like  ourselves  of  such 
matters  must  be  struck  with  the  wealth  of  life — half  vegetable 
and  half  animal — which  he  finds  in  the  caves  and  fissures 
roofed  with  luxuriant  ferns.  There  are  sea-anemones,  and 
madrepores,  and  limpets,  and  carbuncles,  and  barnacles  in 
profusion,  and  such  seaweed  as  for  size  and  beauty  we  never 
saw  before.  The  colour  of  the  sea  is  of  the  loveliest  blue,  now 
and  then  shading  into  green.  As  v/e  waded  through  the  pools 
of  water  in  the  dark  recesses  of  les  Boutiques  we  had  an  un- 
comfortable feeling  that  our  leg  might  be  seized  by  an  Octopus 
or  Devil-fish,  such  as  is  described  by  Victor  Hugo  in  his 
'Toilers  of  the  Sea;'  but  no  such  adventure  happened,  and 
we  cannot  honestly  say  that  we  have  ever  seen  an  Octopus 
anywhere  except  in  the  Aquarium  at  the  Crystal  Palace. 

Opposite,  the  east  side  of  the  coast  of  France  is  plainly 
visible,  and  on  a  clear  day  you  can  see  the  tops  of  houses  and 
the  towers  of  Coutances  Cathedral.  Between  lies  the  long 
low  ridge  of  black  rocks  called  the  Paternosters,  in  which  there 
are  two  fishermen's  huts — a  dreary  storm -tossed  abode.  The 
navigation  of  the  Channel  is  so  dangerous  that  few  vessels 
attempt  it  unless  driven  there  by  stress  of  weather. 

The  Channel  Islands  are  said  to  owe  the  introduction  of 
the  Christian  religion  to  a  holy  man  named  Maglorius,  after- 
wards known  as  St.  Magloire,  who  took  up  his  abode  in  Sark, 
and  first  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  Pagan  inhabitants. 

One  peculiarity  in  Sark,  and  indeed  all  the  Channel 
Islands,  is,  that  there  are  no  field  paths.  But  this  is  easily 
explained.  There  are  no  large  proprietors,  and  the  lands  are 
held  in  small  lots  by  a  great  variety  of  owners.  This,  of 
course,  is  fatal  to  a  right  of  way ;  for  if  leave  were  given  to 
cross  one  field,  the  traveller  would  be  stopped  at  the  next  by 
a  different  owner,  and  the  law  against  trespass  is  severe.  While 
we  were  in  Sark,  an  amusing  illustration  of  this  occurred.  A 
party  of  tourists,  four  gentlemen,  and   two  young  ladies,  the 


TliREE   DAYS  IN  SARK.  407 

daughters  of  a  Church  dignitaiy,  unwittingly  crossed  a  hedge, 
and  each  was  called  upon  by  a  bailiff  in  the  evening  and 
asked  to  pay  a  fine  of  three  livrcs  tovrnois — equal,  we  believe, 
to  fourpence.  This  polite  request  was  disregarded,  and  the 
parties  were  cited  to  appear  next  day  in  the  school-house 
before  the  court.  The  court  consisted  of  three  farmers,  one 
of  whom  was  the  veiy  man  who  owned  the  field  where  the 
trespass  had  been  committed  !  and  who  thus  sat  as  judge  in 
his  own  cause.  The  proceedings  were  in  Norman-French, 
and  commenced  with  a  prayer,  after  which  the  court  Mas  de- 
clared to  be  constituted.      One  of  the  accused  took  a  legal 

o 

exception  to  the  jurisdiction,  but  a  blue  document  called  an 
aziir  (we  believe  the  summons)  was  read,  and  the  plea  was 
overruled.  The  two  young  ladies,  being  under  age,  were  let 
off,  and  the  bailiff  was  censured  for  summoning  minors  for 
trespass,  but  the  rest  were  fined  in  some  small  sum  each, 
which  they  nev^er  paid,  threatening  to  appeal  to  the  Royal 
Court  of  Guernsey  ;  and  one  of  them  crossed  from  Sark  after- 
wards in  the  same  steamer  as  ourselves,  a  fugitive  from  justice. 

The  Court  of  Sark  consists  of  the  Seneschal  or  his  deputy, 
the  Prevot,  and  the  Greffier,  who  are  all  appointed  by  the 
Seigneur,  and  sworn  in  before  the  Royal  Court  of  Guernsey. 
But  besides  this,  there  is  another  court,  called  the  Court  of 
Chefs  Plaids,  which  makes  ordinances  for  roads,  rates,  and 
police  ;  and  it  is  composed  of  the  same  officers  as  the  Court 
of  Sark,  together  with  the  holders  of  the  forty  tenements  into 
which  the  island  has  been  immemorially  divided.  W'e  saw 
more  than  one  painted  board  on  which  it  was  stated  that 
'  the  constables  of  Sark  give  notice,  that  any  person  damaging 
la  Coitpcc,  or  any  of  the  walls  of  Sark,  will  be  liable  to  pay  a 
penalty  of  2/.' 

The  language  of  the  Sarkois  is  a  fatois,  but  more  than 
half  of  the  inhabitants  speak  English,  and  all  of  them,  under- 
stand French.  In  Little  Sark  we  were  obliged  to  speak 
French.  The  m.en  are  better  looking  than  the  Momen,  and 
are  really  a  handsom.e  race.  There  is  one  church,  cne  Wes- 
leyan  chapel,  and  one  windmill  in  the  island. 

The  Sunday  is  very  strictly  observed,  and  no  one  is  allowed 
even  to  fish  on  that  day  under  pain  of  a  fine.  We  believe 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  prison,  but  it  is  so  seldom  used 


4o8  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

that  when  it  was  last  wanted  to  lock  up  an  offender,  it  was 
necessary  to  send  for  a  blacksmith  to  break  open  the  lock,  as 
the  key  could  not  be  found. 

O  !  fortunati  nimium  sua  si  bona  norint. 

In  conclusion  we  will  quote  one  or  two  passages  from  a 
letter  in  the  '  Harleian  Miscellany,'  written  in  April,  1673, 
'  from  a  gentleman  inhabiting  the  Isle  of  Serke,  to  his  friend 
and  kinsman  in  London,'  and  cited  in  '  Tupper's  History.' 
He  says  of  Sark  : — 

Yet  Nature,  as  if  she  had  here  stored  up  some  extraordinary  treasure,  seems  to 
have  been  very  sohcitous  to  render  it  impregnable  ;  being  on  every  side  surrounded 
with  vast  rocks  and  mighty  cliffs,  whose  craggy  tops,  braving  the  clouds  with  their 
stupendous  height,  bid  defiance  to  all  that  shall  dream  of  forcing  an  entrance. 
Two  only  ascents  or  passages  there  are  into  it ;  the  first,  where  all  goods  and 

commodities  are  received,  called  La  Soguien the  other  is  La  Fricheree 

(Eperqueries),  where  only  passengers  can  land,  climbing  up  a  rock  by  certain 
steps  or  stairs  cut  therein,  to  a  vast  height,  and  somewhat  dangerously  ,  nor  is  it 

possible  for  above  one  person  to  come  up  at  once For  belly  timber  our 

three  staple  commodities  are  fish,  fowl,  and  rabbits If  all  this  rich  fare 

will  not  content  you,  we  have  a  most  excellent  pottage  make  of  milk,  bacon,  cole- 
worts,  mackerel,  and  gooseberries  !  boiled  together  all  to  pieces,  which  our  mode 
is  to  eat,  not  with  the  ceremony  of  a  spoon,  but  the  more  beastly  way  of  a  great 
piece  of  bread  furiously  plying  between  your  mouth  and  the  kettle.  Both  sexes 
on  festivals  wear  large  ruffs,  and  the  women,  instead  of  hats  or  hoods,  truss  up 
their  hair,  the  more  genteel  sort  in  a  kind  of  cabbage-net  [anticipation  of  the 
chignon  .?]  ;  those  of  meaner  fortunes  in  a  piece  of  linen,  perhaps  an  old  dishclout 
turned  out  of  service,  or  the  fag-end  of  a  table  cloth  that  has  escaped  the  persecu- 
tion of  washing  ever  since  the  Reformation All  this,  though  you  read  it 

not  till  Michaelmas,  was  told  you  at  Serke,  this  firit  day  of  April,  O.  S.,  1673. 

We  will  only  add  that  when  we  left  Sark  and  crossed  over 
to  Guernsey,  we  met  floating  on  the  waves  the  dead  body  of 
a  seaman  or  fisherman,  with  the  head  downwards  ;  and  it  was 
suggestive  of  the  perils  of  the  navigation  amidst  those  rocks, 
and  tides,  and  currents,  which  guard  Sark  in  its  lonely  solitude 
upon  the  deep. 


409 


WILLIAM    COBBETT} 

I  PROroSE  this  evening  to  give  you  a  sketch  of  the  life, 
character,  and  writings  of  a  remarkable  man.  Yet  such  is 
the  vanity  of  human  reputation  that  beyond  the  mere  name 
little  is  known  by  the  men  of  the  present  time  of  William 
Cobbctt.  They  have  heard  of  him  as  the  great  Radical  of 
bygone  days,  and,  remember  that  he  wrote  a  grammar  and 
edited  the  '  Weekly  Register.'  But  the  other  books  of  which  he 
was  the  author  are  almost  forgotten,  and  few  are  familiar  with 
the  incidents  of  his  active  and  turbulent  life.  In  his  recollec- 
tions of  a  '  past  life,'  the  late  Sir  Henry  Holland  speaks  of 
the  name  and  works  of  Cobbett  as  '  now  nearly  stranded  on 
the  stream  of  time,  but  they  long  exercised  a  powerful 
influence  on  the  public  mind  in  England,'  and  he  says  he 
well  recollects  the  eagerness  with  which  the  '  Register '  was 
looked  for  and  read  in  the  days  of  its  publication.  And  yet 
Cobbett  was  a  anan  whom  in  his  early  years  Lord  North 
regarded  as  the  greatest  political  reasoner  of  his  time,  with 
whose  genius  Mr,  Windham  was  in  raptures,  and  who  was  so 
formidable  a  tribune  of  the  people  as  to  become — while  he 
lived — something  like  one  of  the  popular  institutions  of  the 
country.  As  a  writer  he  was  one  of  the  ablest  in  the  whole 
range  of  the  English  language.  Paradoxical  as  he  was  in 
many  of  his  opinions  and  the  slave  of  violent  prejudice,  he 
was,  notwithstanding,  full  of  vigorous  common  sense,  and  the 
master  of  a  style  which  for  sinewy  strength  and  raciness  has 
never  been  surpassed.  In  a  series  of  '  Historical  Charac- 
ters,' published  by  the  late  Lord  Balling,  better  known  by 
his  former  name  of  Sir  Henry  Lytton  Bulwer,  he  includes 
Cobbett  under  the  head  of  '  The  Contentious  Man  ; '  and  the 

'  A  Lecture  delivered  before  the  Bath  Litcraiy  and  Philosophical  Institution, 
December,  1873. 


4 to  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

title  is  happily  chosen,  for  no  one  ever  had  the  organ  of  com- 
bativeness  more  strongly  developed.  No  Irishman  at  Donny- 
brook  Fair  ever  trailed  his  coat  on  the  ground  to  provoke  a 
fight  with  more  eagerness  than  Cobbett  sought  to  pick  a 
quarrel  with  his  pen.  There  was  scarcely  a  single  man  of 
note  in  the  political  world  whom  he  did  not  in  the  course  of 
his  life  assail,  and  he  sometimes  contrived  to  fasten  upon  his 
opponent  an  epithet  or  nickname,  which  caught  the  popular 
fancy  and  stuck  to  him  for  life. 

William  Cobbett  was  born  near  Farnham,  in  Surrey,  on  the 
9th  of  March,  1766.  His  grandfather  and  father  were  both 
labourers  originally,  but  his  father,  by  his  industry  and  ability, 
had  raised  himself  to  the  position  of  a  small  farmer  or  yeoman. 
He  could  read  and  write,  accomplishments  by  no  means  com- 
mon in  those  days.  He  had  a  smattering  of  mathematics  and 
some  knowledge  of  land  surveying.  Young  William  began  life 
as  a  farmer's  boy,  and  as  such  laid  in  that  remarkable  stock  of 
knowledge  he  possessed  of  all  that  relates  to  agriculture,  and 
also  imbibed  his  passionate  fondness  for  a  rural  life.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen,  however,  he  was  smitten  by  a  desire  to  go  to  sea,  but 
failed  to  engage  a  captain  to  take  him.  Next  year  he  quitted 
home  clandestinely  and  went  on  the  top  of  a  coach  to  London, 
where  he  became  clerk  to  an  attorney  in  Gray's  Inn  Lane.  I 
suppose  it  was  his  experience  in  this  office  that  caused  his 
bitter  hatred  in  after-life  of  law  and  lawyers,  whom  he  some- 
times calls,  on  account  of  their  wigs,  '  grey  mare's  tails,' 
although  curiously  enough  two  of  his  sons  afterwards  entered 
the  profession,  the  one  as  an  attorney,  the  other  as  a  barrister. 
He  soon,  however,  left  what  he  designated  'an  earthly  hell,' 
and  in  1784,  like  Coleridge  at  a  later  period,  enlisted  as  a 
common  soldier  in  a  regiment  intended  to  serve  in  Nova 
Scotia.  During  the  period  of  three  months,  which  he  spent 
at  Chatham  while  the  regiment  was  waiting  to  embark,  he 
made  good  use  of  a  circulating  library,  and  fell  in  love  with 
the  librarian's  daughter.  Unflinching  industry  and  dogged 
perseverance  were  the  characteristics  of  his  nature,  and  at 
whatever  he  did  work  he  worked  like  a  horse.  It  is  to  this 
period  and  the  voyage  that  followed  it  that  we  must  refer  his 
first  study  of  grammar.  '  I  learned  grammar,'  he  says  '  when 
I  was  a  private  soldier  on  sixpence  a  day.     The  edge  of  my 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  411 

berth,  or  that  of  the  guard-bed,  was  my  seat  to  study  on  ;  my 
knapsack  was  my  book-case,  a  bit  of  board  lying  on  my  lap 
was  my  table,  and  the  task  did  not  demand  anything  like  a 
year  of  my  life.'  We  shall  see  by-and-by  that  he  not  only 
learnt  grammar,  but  wrote  a  grammar,  of  which  he  says,  '  For 
me  not  to  say  that  I  deem  my  "  English  Grammar  "  the  best 
book  for  teaching  this  science,  would  be  affectation  and 
neglect  of  duty  besides,  because  I  know  that  it  is  the  best.' 
Cobbett  remained  a  soldier  in  British  America  for  nearly 
eight  years,  and  attained  the  position  of  Sergeant-Major. 
When  he  applied  for  his  discharge  on  the  return  of  his 
regiment  to  Portsmouth  in  1791,  he  was  publicly  compli- 
mented by  General  Frederick  upon  his  behaviour  and  conduct 
during  the  time  of  his  being  in  the  regiment,  and  Major  Lord 
Edward  Fitzgerald  added  'his  most  hearty  thanks.'  While 
in  New  Brunswick  he  met  and  fell  in  love  with  his  future 
M'ife.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  sergeant  of  artillery,  and  the 
way  in  which  his  passion  was  kindled  is  characteristic  and 
curious.  She  was  engaged  in  an  occupation  something  like 
that  of  Nausicaa,  in  the  '  Odyssey,'  with  a  difference.  '  It 
was,'  he  says,  in  his  'Advice  to  Young  Men,'  '  hardly  light,  but 
she  was  out  on  the  snow  scrubbing  out  a  washing-tub.  "  That's 
the  girl  for  me,"  said  I,  vvhen  we  had  got  out  of  her  hearing.' 
And  I  may  mention  that  never  did  husband  bestow  more 
hearty  praise  upon  a  wife  than  he  does  upon  Mrs.  Cobbett  in 
many  parts  of  his  works,  and  she  seems  to  have  deserved  his 
praise.  He  was  obliged  to  leave  America  before  he  could 
marry,  but  his  future  wife  had  returned  to  England  before 
him,  and  he  sent  her  150  guineas — the  whole  of  his  hard- 
earned  savings — begging  her  to  make  use  of  it  by  lodging  with 
respectable  people  until  his  arrival.  But  the  girl  preferred  to 
earn  her  own  livelihood  as  a  servant  of  all  work,  and  when 
Cobbett  came  home  at  the  end  of  four  years  and  claimed  his 
bride,  she  put  the  whole  sum  into  his  hands  untouched.  Well 
might  he  be  proud  of  such  a  wife.  But  in  the  meantime  a 
little  episode  had  occurred  which  he  tells  with  praiseworthy 
candour,  as  a  Vv-arning  to  young  men.  During  the  absence  of 
his  betrothed,  a  colonial  beauty  led  him  astray,  and  we  have 
to  look  at  Cobbett,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  in  the  novel 
character  of  a  gay  Lothario.      His  description  of  the  scenery 


412  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

in  New  Brunswick  v/hcrc  he  met  the  bewitching  charmer,  is 
in  his  very  best  style.  He  says,  '  If  Nature  in  her  most 
amiable  humour  had  made  a  spot  for  the  express  purpose  of 
captivating  me,  she  could  not  have  exceeded  the  efforts 
which  she  had  there  made.'  It  was  in  a  log-hut  by  the  side 
of  a  creek  that  the  young  woman  lived,  with  her  father  and 
mother.  '  On  the  sides  of  the  creeks  the  land  is  in  places 
clear  of  rocks  ;  it  is  in  these  places  generally  good  and  pro- 
ductive. The  trees  that  grow  here,  the  birch,  the  maple,  and 
others  of  the  deciduous  class ;  natural  meadows  here  and 
there  present  themselves,  and  some  of  these  spots  far  surpass 
in  rural  beauty  any  others  that  my  eyes  ever  beheld  :  the 
creeks  abounding  towards  their  sources  in  waterfalls,  in  end- 
less variety,  as  well  in  form  as  in  magnitude,  and  always 
teeming  with  life,  waterfowl  enliven  their  surface,  and  wild 
pigeons  of  the  gayest  plumage  flutter,  in  thousands  upon 
thousands,  amongst  the  branches  of  the  beautiful  trees  which 
sometimes  for  miles  together  form  an  arch  over  the  creeks.' 
The  Naiad  of  the  scene  was  a  lovely  girl  of  nineteen,  who,  to 
quote  Cobbctt  again,  'had  her  long  light  brown  hair  nicely 
twisted  up  and  fastened  on  top  of  her  head,  in  which  head 
were  a  pair  of  lively  blue  eyes,  associated  with  features  of 
which  that  softness  and  that  sweetness  so  characteristic  of 
American  girls  were  the  predominant  expression.'  Here  then 
was  ever}^thing  to  lead  Cobbett  captive  :  '  Here  was  the  spot 
of  all  spots  in  the  world,  and  here  also  were  the  life  and  the 
manners,  the  habits  and  pursuits  that  I  delighted  in  ;  here 
was  everything  that  imagination  can  conceive,  united  in  a 
conspiracy  against  the  poor  little  brunette  in  England.  What 
then,  did  I  fall  in  love  at  once  w^ith  this  bouquet  of  lilies  and 
roses  .''  Oh,  by  no  means  !  '  But  he  lingered  and  dallied  and 
paddled  his  canoe  to  meet  her,  and  although  he  never  ex- 
pressly told  her  that  he  loved  her  and  never  talked  of 
marriage,  yet  he  had  a  thousand  times  done  these  things  by 
implication,  '  although,'  he  says,  '  the  previous  engagement 
was  perfectly  well  known  to  her  and  her  family.'  In  fact, 
Cobbett  was  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  and  he  admits  that  if 
he  had  received  a  cool  letter  from  his  intended  wife,  '  if  she 
had  but  let  go  one  of  the  hundred  strings  by  which  she  held 
my  heart,  never  would  the  world  have  heard  of  me  on  the 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  413 

lovely  banks  of  this  branch-covered  creek,  which  contained 
(she  out  of  the  question)  everything  congenial  to  my  taste 
and  dear  to  my  heart.  I,  unapplauded,  unfeared,  unenvied, 
and  uncalumniated,  should  have  lived  and  died.'  But  a  very 
different  fate  was  in  store  for  him.  The  regiment  was  ordered 
home,  the  last  parting  came,  and  with  it,  says  Cobbett,  my 
just  'punishment.'  As  the  vessel  descended  'she  passed  the 
mouth  of  that  creek  which  I  had  so  often  entered  with  delight, 
and,  though  England  and  all  that  England  contained  were 
before  me,  I  lost  sight  of  this  creek  with  an  aching  heart.' 

Cobbett  married  in  1792,  and,  having  in  the  course  of  that 
year  made  a  charge  against  some  of  the  officers  of  his 
regiment,  which  at  the  court-martial  he  did  not  appear  to 
support,  he  was  obliged  to  quit  England  for  France,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  few  months,  and  then  sailed  for  the  United  States 
and  settled  in  Philadelphia.  Why  Cobbett  did  not  appear  at 
the  court-martial  has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained, 
but  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  pecuniary  motives 
influenced  him  ;  in  other  words,  that  he  was  bought  off.  He 
supported  himself  at  first  in  America  by  giving  English 
lessons  to  French  emigrants,  and  amongst  the  pupils  was  said 
to  have  been  no  less  a  person  than  Talleyrand.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  conceive  a  greater  contrast  than  these  two  men,  thus 
strangely  thrown  together ;  the  one  the  incarnation  oi finesse,  the 
other  the  personification  of  outspoken  bluntness,if  not  sincerity. 
According,  however,  to  Cobbett's  own  statement,  Talleyrand 
came  to  him  and  wished  to  become  his  pupil  in  English,  but 
he  refused  to  take  him  on  any  terms.  He  calls  him  '  the 
modern  Judas,'  and  says  that,  in  answer  to  his  flattery,  'I  gave 
him  to  understand  that  I  was  no  trout,  and  consequently  was 
not  to  be  caught  by  tickling.' 

I  hold  no  brief  as  counsel  for  Cobbett,  and  against  the  charge 
of  inconsistency  his  warmest  advocate  would  find  it  difficult 
to  defend  him.  Those  who  remember  only  how,  when  he  was 
soured  by  what  he  considered  neglect  and  ill-usage  in  England, 
he  lauded  to  the  skies  the  blessings  of  America,  will  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  during,  and  for  some  time  after,  his  first  visit  to  the 
States  he  abused  the  country  and  its  institutions  as  heartily  as 
he  subsequently  praised  them.  He  was  now  an  enthusiastic 
Royalist,  and  ready  to  do  battle  with  Democrats  like  Priestley 


414  ESSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NAUR  ATI  VE. 

and  Paine.  When  Priestley  came  over  to  America,  and  was  re- 
ceived there  with  enthusiasm,  Cobbett,  under  the  name  of  Peter 
Porcupine,  attacked  him  in  a  pamphlet  called  '  Observations  on 
Priestley's  Emigration,'  which  made  a  noise  at  the  time,  and 
may  be  considered  as  the  first  of  his  famous  onslaughts  on 
political  opponents.  He  set  up  a  bookseller's  shop  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  filled  its  windows  with  prints  of  George  III.  and 
the  British  aristocracy,  the  like  of  which  had  never  been 
publicly  exhibited  in  the  United  States  since  the  beginning 
of  the  American  war.  This  was  like  trailing  red  cloth  before 
a  wild  bull,  and  the  Republican  newspapers  were  full  of 
articles,  and  the  Republican  shops  teemed  with  pamphlets, 
headed,  'A  Blue  Pill  for  Peter  Porcupine;'  'A  Roaster  for 
Peter  Porcupine;'  'A  Picture  of  Peter  Porcupine.'  Cobbett 
was  just  in  his  element.  '  Dear  father,'  he  wrote  home,  '  when 
you  used  to  set  me  off  to  work  in  the  morning,  dressed  in  my 
blue  smock-frock  and  woollen  spatterdashes,  wdth  a  bag  of 
bread  and  cheese  and  a  bottle  of  small  beer  over  my  shoulder, 
little  did  you  imagine  that  I  should  one  day  become  so  great 
a  man.'  He  engaged  in  a  squabble  with  a  rival  editor  named 
Bailie,  a  grandson  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  meeting  him  one 
day  in  the  street  and  being  abused  by  him,  retorted  by  a  blow, 
which  laid  his  opponent  sprawling  in  the  gutter.  He  published 
a  pamphlet,  called  *  The  Trial  of  Republicanism,'  in  which  he 
exposed  the  evils  of  Republican  Government,  and  assailed  it 
with  some  of  his  choicest  terms  of  abuse.  The  following 
passage  will  give  an  idea  of  its  tone  and  spirit : — '  Men  of 
sense  know  that  the  people  can,  in  reality,  exercise  power 
which  will  not  tend  to  their  own  injury.  Hence  it  is  that  in 
states,  when  the  popular  voice  is  unchecked  by  royal  or  other 
hereditary  control,  that  voice,  in  nine  times  out  of  ten,  is 
given  in  favour  of  those  fawning  parasites  who  rule  the  poor 
sovereign,  who  has  chosen  them,  with  a  rod  of  scorpions, 
affecting,  while  the  miserable  wretch  is  writhing  under  their 
stripes,  to  call  themselves  "  his  representatives."  '  He  called 
Wilkes  '  a  miserable  adventurer,  without  ancestry,  without 
fortune,  without  anything  but  impudence,  obscurity,  and  blas- 
phemy to  recommend  him.'  Having  as  he  thought  demolished 
Priestley,  Cobbett  next  turned  upon  Paine  who  had  landed  in 
America,  and,  avowing  Republican  principles,  was  then  wor- 


WILLIAM   COBBETT.  415 

shipped  as  a  popular  idol.  This  of  course  made  Cobbett 
himself  unpopular,  for  which  he  little  cared  ;  but  an  attempt 
was  made  to  crush  him  by  instituting  a  prosecution  against 
him  on  a  charge  of  wholesale  libel,  founded  upon  the  general 
character  of  his  writings,  and  he  was  obliged  to  enter  into  a 
recognisance  fee  for  his  good  behaviour,  to  the  amount  of  4,000 
dollars.  He  narrowly  escaped  prosecution  for  a  libel  against 
the  Spanish  minister  at  Washington,  the  bill  being  ignored 
by  the  grand  jury  by  a  majority  of  one,  and  he  was  only 
saved  by  the  opinions  of  the  Attorney-General  from  being 
turned  out  of  the  United  States,  under  the  'Alien  Act.'  At 
last,  however,  he  was  caught.  A  doctor  Rush  had  come  into 
public  notice  by  prescribing  a  system  of  purging  and  bleeding 
as  a  remedy  for  the  yellow  fever,  and  Cobbett  assailed  him 
with  his  usual  violence.  He  asked,  *  Can  the  RusJi  grow  up 
without  mire,  or  the  flag  without  water  .-*'  and  the  way  he 
answered  the  question  led  to  a  prosecution  for  libel,  in  which  he 
was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  5,000  dollars. 

Cobbett  now  thought  it  prudent  to  leave  this  land  of  liberty 
for  England,  and  on  June  i,  1800,  he  decamped  from  America, 
which  he  called  'that  infamous  land  where  judges  become  felons, 
and  felons  judges.'  We  shall  soon  see  how  he  changed  his  note 
afterwards.  Cobbett  returned  to  this  country  disgusted  with 
the  United  States,  and,  if  he  had  met  with  a  different  recep- 
tion, he  might  and  indeed  certainly  would  have  been  a  powerful 
auxiliary  on  the  side  of  the  Government.  I  quite  agree  with 
Lord  Bailing  that  the  ministry  made  a  great  mistake  in  not 
enlisting  so  sturdy  a  champion  in  the  ranks  of  its  supporters, 
but  he  was  left  in  the  cold  shade  and  obliged  to  shift  for 
himself  without  any  aid  from  patronage  or  power.  Mr.  Pitt  is 
said  to  have  treated  Cobbett  with  coolness  one  day  when  he 
met  him  at  Mr.  Windham's,  and  thus  a  private  grievance  was 
added  to  what  he  thought  a  public  wrong,  but  I  am  bound  to 
add  that  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  the  meeting 
at  all.  One  version  is  that  the  haughty  minister  refused  an 
invitation  to  dinner  at  Mr.  Windham's  because  Cobbett  was 
to  be  one  of  the  guests,  but  he  distinctly  asserts  the  contrary 
in  different  parts  of  his  works.  For  instance,  he  says  in  his 
'  Year's  Residence  in  America,'  '  I  had  dined  the  day  before 
at  the  Secretary  of  State's  in  company  with  Mr.  Pitt,  and  had 


4i6  £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

been  waited  upon  by  men  in  gaudy  liveries.'  He  did  not, 
however,  at  once  go  into  opposition.  He  started  a  paper 
called  the  '  Porcupine,'  and  his  programme  was  one  to  which 
the  Tories  could  not  object.  '  The  subjects  of  a  British  King,' 
he  says,  '  like  the  sons  of  every  provident  and  tender  father, 
never  know  his  value  till  they  feel  the  want  of  his  protection. 
In  the  days  of  youth  and  ignorance  I  was  led  to  believe  that 
comfort,  freedom,  and  virtue  were  exclusively  the  lot  of  Re- 
publicans. A  very  short  time  convinced  me  of  my  error, 
admonished  me  to  repent  of  my  folly,  and  urged  me  to  com- 
pensate for  the  injustice  of  the  opinion  which  I  had  conceived. 
Once  more  returned,  once  more  under  the  safeguard  of  that 
Sovereign  who  watched  over  me  in  my  infancy,  and  the  want 
of  whose  protecting  arm  I  have  so  long  had  reason  to  lament, 
I  feel  an  irresistible  desire  to  communicate  to  my  countrymen 
the  fruit  of  my  experience,  to  show  them  the  injurious  and 
degrading  consequences  of  discontent,  disloyalty,  and  inno- 
vation ;  to  convince  them  that  they  are  the  first  as  well  as 
happiest  of  the  human  race,  and  above  all  to  warn  them 
against  the  arts  of  those  perfidious  and  ambitious  demagogues 
who  would  willingly  reduce  them  to  a  level  v/Ith  the  cheated 
slaves  in  the  bearing  of  whose  yoke  I  had  the  mortification  to 
share.'  Surely  this  was  a  Vv-riter  whom  it  was  worth  while 
to  conciliate,  especially  at  a  time  when  discontent  was  so  rife 
and  when,  I  will  add,  there  was  both  in  the  social  and  political 
world  of  England  so  much  to  justify  discontent.  But  of  this  I 
will  speak  afterwards.  1  will  here  only  remark  in  passing  that 
however  Cobbett  might  in  later  years  attack  the  Government 
of  the  day,  and  pour  forth  a  flood  of  abuse,  such  as  he  alone 
could  command,  upon  individual  ministers,  he  never  swerved 
from  his  monarchical  faith,  and  to  the  last  was  utterly  opposed 
to  the  idea  of  a  Republic  in  England.  He  says,  in  his  'Rural 
Ideas,' written  in  the  years  1831-1832,  'I  repeat,  and  with 
perfect  sincerity,  that  it  would  give  me  as  much  pain  as  it 
would  to  any  man  in  England  to  see  a  change  in  the  form  of 
government.  With  King,  Lords,  and  Commons  this  nation 
has  enjoyed  many  ages  of  happiness  and  of  glory  ;'  and  again, 
in  his  'History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,'  T  must  (though 
it  has  nothing  really  to  do  with  the  question  before  us)  repeat 
my  opinion,  many  times  expressed,  that  we  should  lose  more 


WILLIAM   COBBETT.  417 

than  wc  should  gain  by  getting  rid  of  our  aristocracy.  The 
basest  and  most  corrupt  Government  I  ever  knew  or  heard 
anything  of  is  the  Pv.epubh'can  Government  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  withal  the  most  truly  tyrannical,  base,  and  corrupt  from 
bottom  to  top,  from  the  root  to  the  topmost  twig,  from  the 
trunk  to  the  extreme  point  of  every  branch.'  Hear  this,  Odger, 
Bradlaugh,  and  Sir  Charles  Dilke !  '  I  am  not,  therefore,'  he 
adds, 'for  Republican  Government,  and  then  it  follows  that 
I  am  for  an  aristocracy,  for  without  it  there  can  be  no  limit 
to  a  kingly  Government' 

In  1 80 1  Cobbett  opened  a  bookseller's  shop  in  Pall  Mall, 
in  partnership  with  a  person  named  Morgan,  and  adopted  as  its 
sign  '  The  Crown,  Bible,  and  Mitre,'  to  indicate  the  principles 
which  they  intended  to  maintain.  When  Pitt  in  that  year  re- 
signed office,  because  the  king  refused  to  consent  to  a  measure  of 
Catholic  emancipation,  Cobbett  rushed  into  print,  and  avowed 
his  difference  of  opinion  with  a  minister  '  whose  character  and 
conduct,'  he  said,  'he  had  voluntarily  defended  at  the  expense  of 
his  peace  and  property,  and  not  unfrequently  at  the  hazard  of 
his  life.'  This  alluded  to  his  experience  in  America.  He  pub- 
lished a  life  of  Tom  Paine,  and  a  collection  of  the  works  of  Peter 
Porcupine,  in  twelve  octavo  volumes,  stigmatising  in  his  preface 
Washington  as  a  rebel  and  the  American  revolutions  as  rebel- 
lion against  the  most  just  of  sovereigns.  Rather  than  illumi- 
nate for  the  Peace  of  Amiens,  Cobbett  allowed  his  windows  to 
be  smashed  by  the  mob,  and  when  three  persons  were  in  conse- 
quence convicted  of  a  riot,  and  the  jury  recommended  them  to 
mercy,  on  their  counsel  asking  Cobbett  to  join  in  the  recom- 
mendation, he  bluntly  answered,  '  Certainly  not,  sir  ;  I  came 
here  to  ask  for  justice  and  not  mercy.'  Giving  up  the  '  Porcu- 
pine '  he  brought  out  a  new  paper,  called  the  '  W'eekly  Political 
Register,'  which  soon  became  famous  for  the  vigour  of  its  articles 
and  its  violent  and  indiscriminate  abuse.  Miiller,  the  German 
historian,  called  his  letters  to  Hawkesbury  and  Addington 
*  the  most  eloquent  writing  since  the  time  of  the  two  great 
professors  of  Philippic  oratory.'  But  though  many  of  its 
attacks,  especially  at  a  later  period  of  its  existence,  would  be 
thought  violent  even  now,  the  worst  of  them  were  hardly  such 
as  deserved  the  notice  of  His  Majesty's  Attorney-General, 
and  those  which  were  selected  for  the  disagreeable  compliment 

E  E 


4i8  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

would  now  be  thought  as  mild  as  milk  and  harmless  as  water. 
Some  letters,  under  the  signature  of  '  Juverna,'  which  appeared 
in  the  *  Register'  in  November  and  December,  1803,  discussed 
the  question  of  the  Government  of  Ireland,  of  which  the  Eail 
of  Hardwicke  was   Lord  Lieutenant.     The  writer  compared 
the  L-ish  Administration  to  the  Wooden  Horse  of  Troy,  which 
contained  within  its  womb  all  the  elements  of  mischief,  and 
spoke  of  Lord  Hardwicke    in    terms  which   I    should   have 
thought  no  perverted  ingenuity  could  twist  into  a  libel.     '  But 
who,'  he  asked,  '  is    Lord    Hardwicke }      I    have    discovered 
him  to  be  in  rank  an  earl,  in  manners  a  gentleman,  in  morals 
a  good  father  and  a  kind  husband ;  and  that,  moreover,  he 
has  a  good  library  in  St.  James's  Square.     From  Mr.  Lindsay 
I   further  learned  that  Lord  Hardwicke  was  celebrated   for 
understanding  the  mode  and  method  of  fattening  sheep  as  well 
as  any  man  in  Cambridgeshire.'     And  for  this  most  innocent 
kind  of  joke,  if  joke  it  can  be  called,  or  sarcasuiii,  to  use  the 
expression  of  ArtemusWard,  Cobbett  was  found  by  the  verdict 
of  a  jury  '  guilty  of  having  attempted  to  subvert  the  king's 
authority.'     Another  letter,  signed  'Juverna,'  applied  the  term 
'  viper  '  to  Plunkett,  who  was  the  Solicitor-General  for  Ireland, 
with  reference  to  his  speech  on  the  prosecution  of  Emmett, 
and  the  writer  said  that  '  Lord  Kenyon  would  have  turned 
with  horror  from  such  a  scene,   in  which,  if  guilt  were  in 
one  part  punished,  justice  in  the  whole  drama  was  confounded, 
humanity   outraged,    and    loyalty   insulted.'      This    brought 
down  another  prosecution,  and  the  result  was  another  verdict 
against  Cobbett.     But  he  was  not  the  writer  of  the  letters  ; 
the  real  author  was  a  Mr.  Johnson,  who  afterwards  became 
a  judge  ;  and,  as  his  name  was  discovered,  Cobbett  was  not 
further  molested.    When  the  Whig  Ministry  of  All  the  Talents 
in    1806  proposed   an   increase  of    allowance   to   the  king's 
younger  sons,  Cobbett  opposed  it  in  his  paper,  and  declared 
himself  against   the  '  cheese  parings    and    candle    ends '    of 
Royalty.     '  I  am,'  he  said,  '  against  these  things,  not  because  I 
am  a  Republican,  but  because  I  am  for  Monarchical  Govern- 
ment, and  consequently  adverse  to  all  that  gives  Republicans 
occasion  for  sneering  at  it.'     At  the  same  time  he  commenced 
the  laborious  undertaking    of  his  '  Parliamentary  Register,' 
which  contains  the  proceedings  of  Parliament  from  the  earliest 
time,  and  is  a  most  useful  book  of  reference. 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  419 

But  evil  days  were  before  him,  and  the  whole  complexion 
of  his  life  was  about  to  be  changed  by  an  act  of  the  Govern- 
ment, invoking  the  terrible  powers  of  the  law,  of  which,  in  these 
times  of  free  discussion  and  liberty  of  the  press,  it  is  difificult  to 
speak  with  ordinary  patience.     I  am  certainly  not  going  to  de- 
fend Cobbett  against  the  charge  of  being  a  reckless  assailant 
of  persons,  and  I  admit  he  was  the  greatest  master  of  abusive 
language,  not  even  excepting  Cleon  and  O'Connell,  that  ever 
appeared  amongst  the  sons  of  men.    But  we  must,  in  common 
fairness  and  justice  to  him,  remember  that  the  England  of  his 
day  was  very  different  from  the  England  of  our  own.     It  is 
difficult  to  realise  how  great  this  difference  is.     Old  Sarum, 
Gatton,  Wootton  Bassett,  and  a  host  of  miserable  villages,  were 
the  pocket  boroughs  of  rich  proprietors,  while  Manchester  and 
Birmingham,  Sheffield  and   Leeds  were  unrepresented  in  Par- 
liament.    So  wretched  and  ruinous  were  some  of  these  places 
that  we  can  scarcely  wonder  at  Cobbett  exclaiming  in  his  rural 
rides,  'God's  curse  seems  to  be  upon  most  of  these  rotten 
boroughs.'     I  do  not  know  that  Calne,  which  still  returns  a 
member  to  the  House  of  Commons,  has  much  improved  since 
his  dme,  when  he  thus  speaks  of  it :    'I  could  not  come  through 
that  villanous  hole,  Calne,  without  cursing  corruption  at  every 
step,  and  when  I  was  coming  by  an  ill-looking  place,  called 
the  town-hall,  I  suppose  I  poured  a  double  dose  of  execration 
upon  it'     The  state  of  our  criminal  law  was  simply  infamous. 
It  was  a  capital  offence  to  pick  a  pocket,  steal  a  sheep,  or  cut 
down  a  young  apple  tree.     Non-residence  and  plurality  of 
livings  amongst  the  clergy  were  rather  the  rule  than  the  ex- 
ception.    'There  is   a  parliamentary  return,'  says   Cobbett, 
writing  in  1826,  '  to  prove  that  nearly  a  third  of  the  parsonage 
houses  in  Wiltshire  have  become  beggarly  holes  or  have  dis- 
appeared.'     The  poor  law  was  so  badly  administered  by  a 
weekly  system  of  out-door  relief  and  by  being  made  a  kind  of 
supplement  to  low  wages,  that  it  proved  a  curse,  and  the  law 
of  settlement  was  so  worked  as  to  become  an  engine  of  torture 
to  the  poor.     The  pension  list  was  loaded  with  the  names  of 
titled  sinecurists,  and  the  case  of  Mrs.  Clark,  at  a  later  period, 
revealed  the  corruption  which  was  festering  in  high  places. 
It  was  dangerous  for  a  writer,  who  wished  for  reform  of  these 
things,  to  meddle  with  them  unless  he  was  ready  to  face  fine 


420  £.SSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

and  imprisonment  The  law  of  seditious  libel  was  no  rusty 
weapon,  but  a  sharp-cutting  sword  in  the  hands  of  the  At- 
torney-General of  the  day,  and  so  Cobbett  found  to  his  cost. 
A  paragraph  appeared  on  July  i,  1809,  in  the  '  Courier  News- 
paper,' stating  that  '  the  mutiny  amongst  the  local  militia, 
which  broke  out  at  Ely,  was  fortunately  suppressed  on  Wed- 
nesday by  the  arrival  of  four  legions  of  the  German  Cavalry 
from  Bury,  under  the  command  of  General  Auckland.  Five 
of  the  ringleaders  were  tried  by  a  court-martial,  and  sentenced 
to  receive  500  lashes  each,  part  of  which  punishment  they  re- 
ceived on  Wednesday  and  part  was  remitted.  A  stoppage  of 
their  knapsacks  was  the  ground  of  complaint  which  excited 
the  mutinous  spirit  and  occasioned  the  men  to  surround  their 
officers  and  demand  Avhat  they  deemed  their  arrears.'  On 
this  Cobbett  wrote  and  published  the  following  remarks  in 
the  '  Register'  : — *  Summary  of  politics,  local  militia,  and  Ger- 
man Legion.  See  the  motto,  English  reader,  see  the  motto, 
and  then  do  pray  recollect  all  that  has  been  said  about  the 
way  in  which  Bonaparte  raises  his  soldiers.  Well  done.  Lord 
Castlcreagh  !  This  is  just  what  it  was  thought  your  plan 
would  produce.  Well  said,  Mr.  Huskisson !  It  was  really 
not  without  reason  you  dwelt  with  so  much  earnestness  upon 
the  great  utility  of  the  foreign  troops,  whom  Mr.  Wardle  ap- 
peared to  think  of  no  utility  at  all.  Poor  gentleman,  he  little 
thought  how  great  a  genius  might  find  employment  for  such 
troops ;  he  little  imagined  they  might  be  well  the  means  of  com- 
pelling Englishm.en  to  submit  to  that  sort  of  discipline  which  is 
so  conducive  to  producing  in  them  a  disposition  to  defend  the 
country  at  the  risk  of  their  lives.  Let  Mr.  Wardle  look  at  my 
motto  and  then  say  whether  soldiers  are  of  no  use.  Five  hun- 
dred lashes  each  !  Aye,  that  is  right  !  flog  them  !  flog  them  ! 
flog  them  !  they  deserve  it,  and  a  great  deal  more !  They 
deserve  a  flogging  at  every  meal  time — Lash  them  daily  ! 
lash  them  daily  !  What !  shall  the  rascals  dare  to  mutiny, 
and  that,  too,  when  the  German  Legion  is  so  near  at  hand  ! 
Lash  them  !  they  deserve  it ! — Oh  yes  !  they  deserve  a  double- 
tailed  cat !  Base  dogs  !  what,  mutiny  for  the  sake  of  the  price 
of  a  knapsack  !  Lash  them  !  Flog  them  !  Base  rascals  ! 
Mutiny  for  the  price  of  a  goat-skin,  and  then  upon  the  ap- 
pearance  of  the    German   soldiers   they  take   a    flogging    as 


nVLLlAM  COBBETT.  421 

quietly  as  the  trunks  of  trees  !'  For  this  article  Cobbett  was 
prosecuted  by  the  Attorney-General,  Sir  Vicary  Gibbs.  I  will 
give  his  own  account  of  the  trial,  and  its  results,  as  told  by 
himself  in  his  '  Advice  to  Young  Men.'  '  The  Attorney-Gene- 
ral, Gibbs,  was  set  upon  me ;  he  harassed  me  for  nearly  a 
year,  then  brought  me  to  trial,  and  I  was  by  Ellenborough, 
Le  Blanc,  and  Bailey  sentenced  to  two  years'  Imprisonment 
in  Newgate,  to  pay  a  fine  to  the  king  of  1,000/.,  and  to  be 
held  in  heavy  bail  for  seven  years  after  the  expiration  of  the 
imprisonment :  every  one  regarded  it  as  a  sentence  of  death. 
I  lived  in  the  country  seventy  miles  from  London.  I  had  a 
farm  on  my  hands  ;  I  had  a  family  of  small  children,  amongst 
whom  I  had  constantly  lived  ;  I  had  a  most  anxious  and  de- 
voted wife,  who  was,  too,  in  that  state  Avhich  rendered  the 
separation  more  painful  tenfold.  I  was  put  into  a  place 
among  felons,  from  which  I  had  to  rescue  myself  at  the  price 
of  twelve  guineas  a  week  for  the  whole  of  the  two  years.'  The 
farm  of  which  Cobbett  here  speaks  was  at  Botley,  near  South- 
ampton, and  he  elsewhere  describes  how  when  '  the  news 
arrived  at  Botley,  the  three  boys,  one  eleven,  one  nine,  and 
the  other  seven  years  old,  were  hoeing  cabbages  in  that  garden 
which  had  been  the  source  of  so  much  delight.'  But  he  bore 
it  manfully  ;  his  wife  and  children  from  time  to  time  visited 
him  in  prison  ;  a  hamper  was  sent  once  a  week  or  oftener  from 
Botley  bringing  '  fruits  and  all  sorts  of  country  fare,  and  always 
every  one  sent  his  or  her  most  beautiful  flowers,  the  earliest 
violets  and  primroses  and  cowslips,  the  earliest  twigs  of  trees, 
and  in  short,  everything  that  they  thought  calculated  to  de- 
light me.'  But  what  he  prized  most  in  the  hamper  were  his 
children's  '  little  spudding  letters,'  to  each  of  which  he  always 
made  a  point  of  returning  a  punctual  answer.  He  also,  by 
means  of  a  journal  written  by  his  sons,  was  kept  an  courant  as 
to  all  that  was  going  on  at  Botley,  and  was  able  to  carry 
on  his  farm  and  give  his  orders — from  his  gaol  in  Newgate — 
almost  as  well  as  if  he  were  roaming  amongst  his  own  corn- 
fields. 

Cobbett  emerged  from  prison  a  changed  man.  He  was 
become  a  political  Ishmael,  whose  hand  was  against  every 
man,  if  every  man's  hand  was  not  against  him.  Charity 
and  forgiveness  of  injuries  were  no  part  of  liis  creed,  and  he 


42  2  £SSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

turned  fiercely  upon  his  foes  '  without,'  as  he  says,  '  caring  a 
straw  on  whom  their   fall    might  bring   calamity,  so  that  my 
own  family  were  safe,  because,  say  what  any  one  might,  the 
community,  taken  as  a  whole,  had  suffered  this  thing  to  be 
done  unto  me.'     In  his  '  Rural  Rides'  he  exclaims,  '  Let  the 
reptiles  perish  ;  it  would  be  injustice,  it  would  be  to  fly  in  the 
face  of  morality  and  religion,  to  express  sorrow  for  their  ruin.' 
And  in  his  '  Advice  to  Young  Men,'  '  Oh  !  how  I  despise  the 
wretches  who  talk  of  my  vindictiveness,  of  my  exultation  at 
the  confusion  of  those  who  inflicted  those  sufferings.     How  I 
despise  the  base  creatures,  the  crawling  slaves,  the  callous  and 
cowardly  hypocrites  who  affect  to  be  shocked  (tender  souls) 
at  my  expressions  of  joy  at  the  death  of  Gibbs,  Ellenborough, 
Perceval,  Liverpool,  Canning,  and  the  rest  of  the  tribe  that  I 
have  already  seen  out,  and  at  the  fated  workings  of  that  sys- 
tem for  endeavouring  to  check  which  I  was  thus  punished  ! 
How  I  despise  these  wretches,  and  how   I  above  all  things 
enjoy  their  ruin  and  anticipate  their  utter  beggary  !     What ! 
I  am  to  forgive,  am  I,  injuries  like  this,  and  that,  too,  without 
any  atonement .''     Oh,  no  !  I  have  not  so  read  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;  I  have  not  from  them  learned  that  I  am  not  to  rejoice 
at  the  fall  of  unjust  foes,  and  it  makes  part  of  my  happiness 
to  be  able  to  tell  ten  millions  of  men  that  I  do  thus  rejoice, 
and  that  I  have  the  means  of  calling  on  so  many  just  and 
merciful  men  to  rejoice  along  with  me.'    And  yet  it  would  be 
wrong   to    consider    Cobbett    an    ill-natured    man.     No    one 
cherished    more  warmly  the  affections  of  home  and  family, 
and  no  one  could  speak  of  babies  as  he  did  who  had  not  in 
him  much  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness.     It  was  said   of 
Paley,  who  was  rough  and  coarse  in  manner,  that  the  way  in 
which  he  writes  of  little  children  proves  the  kindness  of  his 
heart ;  and  Paley  never  expressed  himself  about   them  with 
half  the  warmth  of  Cobbett.    He  says,  '  The  man,  the  woman, 
who  is   not  fond  of  babies  is  not  worthy  of  the  name  ;  but 
where  is  the  man  who  does  not  feel  his  heart  soften,  who  does 
not  feel  himself  become  gentler,  who  does  not  lose  all  the 
hardness  of  his  temper,  when  in  any  w£iy,  for  any  purpose,  or 
by  anybody,  an  appeal  is  made  to  him  on  behalf  of  those  so 
perfectly  helpless  and  so  perfectly  innocent  little  creatures  } ' 
C  obbctt's  release  from_  prison  was  celebrated  by  a  dinner,  at 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  423 

which  Sir  Francis  Burdctt,  '  Old  Glory,'  as  in  derision  he  after- 
wards christened  him,  was  in  the  chair.  He  pubHshed  at  un- 
equal intervals,  to  escape  the  stamp  duty,  a  series  of  papers 
called  '  Twopenny  Trash,'  and  became  so  formidable  a  writer 
that  he  was  able  to  boast  with  perhaps  some  truth  that  the 
suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  the  passing  of  the 
Six  Acts  in  18 17,  were  more  directed  against  himself  than 
against  all  the  other  political  enemies  of  the  Government  put 
together.  But  he  had  got  heavily  into  debt,  caused  chiefly  by 
the  reckless  way  in  which  he  printed  and  published  books  and 
pamphlets.  This  sufficiently  accounts  for  his  hasty  flight  to 
America,  but  he  pretended  that  it  was  owing  to  the  suspen- 
sion of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  and  his  dread  of  Sidmouth 
and  Castlereagh.  He  had  borrowed  large  sums  of  money 
from  friends,  among  whom  was  Sir  Francis  Burdett.  These 
he  had  no  means  of  paying,  and  as  he  had  had  enough  of  im- 
prisonment, and  the  law  against  insolvent  debtors  was  then 
terribly  severe,  he  suddenly  left  England  in  18 17  and  took 
refuge  in  the  United  States,  coolly  telling  his  creditors  that, 
as  they  had  not  resisted  the  persecutions  from  which  his  losses 
had  arisen,  they  were  in  no  small  degree  responsible  for 
them,  and  must  be  prepared  to  share  the  consequences.  We 
have  seen  in  what  contemptuous  terms  he  had  spoken  of 
Republican  America  during  and  after  his  first  visit  there. 
But  now  he  Avas  sick  of  England,  and  saw  everything  in  the 
land  of  his  adoption  with  totally  different  eyes.  Throughout 
his  later  writings  he  is  never  weary  of  contrasting  the  two 
countries,  and  always  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  latter.  While 
living  at  a  farm  he  had  taken  on  Hampstead  Plains,  Long 
Island,  Cobbett  wrote  his  '  English  Grammar,'  that  '  famous 
Grammar,'  as  he  calls  it,  which  is  certainly  the  clearest  and 
cleverest  and  most  amusing  book  on  the  subject.  He  of 
course  was  not  afflicted  with  any  false  modesty,  and  he 
especially  prides  himself  upon  his  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
'  How  many  false  pretenders,'  he  says,  '  to  erudition  have  I 
exposed  to  shame  by  my  knowledge  of  grammar  !  How 
many  of  the  insolent  and  ignorant  great  have  I  pulled  down 
and  made  despicable  !  and  with  what  ease  have  I  conveyed 
upon  numerous  important  subjects,  information  and  instruc- 
tion to  millions  now  alive,  and  provided  a  store  of  both  for 


424  JSSSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

millions  yet  unborn ! '  But  for  a  man  to  whom  strife  and 
contention  were  alike  the  breath  of  life,  and  who  above  all 
things  courted  notoriety,  he  was  in  a  false  position.  As  Lord 
Bailing  says,  'He  was  not  even  taken  up  as  "a  lion,"  for  his 
sudden  preference  for  Republican  institutions  created  no  sen- 
sation amongst  men  who  were  now  all  heart  and  soul  Repub- 
licans. He  was  not  a  hero,  and  he  could  not  consistently 
with  his  present  doctrines  attempt  to  become  a  martyr.'  He 
began  to  sigh  for  England,  and,  in  order  to  return  there  with 
some  eclat,  he  actually  had  the  bones  of  Tom  Paine  disin- 
terred, intending  to  carry  them  across  the  Atlantic.  He  had 
formerly  stigmatised  Paine  as  'the  greatest  disgrace  of  man- 
kind, an  infamous  and  atrocious  miscreant,'  but  he  was  now 
'the  great  enlightener  of  the  human  race,  and  the  boldest 
champion  of  popular  rights.'  At  last,  to  quote  the  words  of 
Lord  Balling,  '  After  vainly  offering  locks  of  hair  or  any 
particle  of  the  exhumed  Atheist  and  Republican  at  a  low- 
price,  considering  the  value  of  the  relics,  he  let  the   matter 

drop and    the    inestimable    fragments  of  the 

disinterred  Quaker   suddenly   disappeared,    and    were   never 
heard  of  more.' 

Cobbett  returned  to  England  and  tried  to  get  into  the  House 
of  Commons.  He  stood  first  for  Coventry,  and  then  for  Pres- 
ton, but  was  on  both  occasions  unsuccessful.  We  ought,  how- 
ever, to  mention  that  he  made  a  previous  attempt  in  June,  1806, 
when  he  offered  himself  for  Honiton,  but  did  not  go  to  the  poll 
as  Lord  Cochrane  arrived  and  became  the  popular  candidate. 
I  need  not  say  that  his  failure  was  not  due  to  any  difficulties 
on  his  part,  or  want  of  self-appreciation.  Addressing  his  sup- 
porters when  Parliament  was  dissolved,  at  the  demise  of  George 
HL,  he  said,  '  To  you  I  do  and  must  look  for  support  in  my 
public  efforts.  As  far  as  the  press  can  go  I  want  no  assist- 
ance ;  aided  by  my  sons  I  have  already  made  the  ferocious 
cowards  of  the  London  press  sneak  into  silence.  But  there  is 
a  larger  range,  a  more  advantageous  ground  to  stand  on,  and 
that  is  the  Plouse  of  Commons.  A  great  effect  on  the  public 
mind  I  have  already  produced,  but  that  is  nothing  to  what  I 
should  produce  in  only  the  next  session  in  June  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  Yet  there  I  cannot  be  without  your  assistance.' 
He  had  to  wait  for  the  days  of  the  Reform  Bill,  when  he  was 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  425 

returned  to  Parliament  for  the  borough  of  Oldham,  and  thus 
Cobbett  represented    one  of  those  manufacturing  towns  of 
which  he  had  always  previously  spoken  with  abhorrence  and 
contempt.    But  in  the  meantime  his  pen  was  as  active  as  ever, 
and  besides  the  '  Register  '  he  wrote  his  '  Cottage  Economy,' 
*  Sermons,'  '  Rural  Rides,'  and  the  '  History  of  the  Protestant 
Reformation,'    of  which    I    will   speak   hereafter.      Frequent 
allusion  is  made  in  Cobbetts  works  to  the  gridiron,  and  an 
engraving  of  this  useful  culinary  instrument  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  later  numbers  of  the  '  Register.'     The  origin  of 
it  was  this.    When  he  was  resident  in  Long  Island  in  18 19,  he 
published  a  letter  to  Lord  Folkestone  in  which  he  attacked 
the    Currency  Bill  of  the  first    Sir    Robert    Peel,   and    with 
respect  to  his  prophecy  that  the  Bank  of  England  would  be 
able,  without  any  reduction  of  the  debt,  to  pay  in  specie,  he 
declared,  '  If  she  does,  I  will  give   my  poor  body  up  to  be 
broiled  on  one  of  Castlereagh's  Vv'idest-ribbed  gridirons.'    And 
again,  '  I  will  give  Castlereagh  leave  to  lay  me  on  a  gridiron 
and  broil  me  alive,  whilst  Sidmouth  may  stir  the  coals,  and 
Canning  stand   by  and  laugh  at  my  groans.'     Not  satisfied 
with  being  farmer,  author,  editor,  and  pamphleteer,  he  opened 
a  butcher's  shop  at  Kensington,  and  soon  after  closed  it  by  an 
act  of  bankruptcy.     During  the  incendiary  '  swing  fires'  an 
article  appeared  in  the  *  Register,'  which  again  attracted  to 
Cobbett  the  notice  of  the  Attorney-General.     He  was  prose- 
cuted for  a   seditious  libel,  but,  as   the  jury  were  unable  to 
agree,  the  result  this  time  was  an  acquittal,  and  shortly  after- 
wards he  was  able  to  write   M.P.  after  his  name.     I   have 
myself,  when  a  very  young  man,  seen  him  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  but   I  prefer  to  borrow  the  description  given  of 
him  by  Lord  Balling,  who  sat  in  the  same  Parliament  with 
him.     He  calls  him  '  an  elderly,  respectable-looking,  red-faced 
gentleman,  in  a  dust- coloured   coat   and  drab  breeches,  with 
gaiters,  tall  and  strongly  built,  but  stooping,  with  sharp  eyes, 
a   round    and    ruddy  countenance,  smallish   features,   and    a 
peculiarly  cynical  mouth.     He  realised  pretty  nearly  the  idea 
that  might  have  been  formed  about  him.'  He  did  not  pretend 
to  eloquence,  and  his  style  of  speaking  was  '  colloquial,  bitter, 
with  a   dry  caustic   and  rather   drawling   delivery.'     Still  no 
other  instance  exists,  and  perhaps  no  other  instance  will  ever 


42  6  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

exist,  of  a  man  entering  the  House  of  Commons  at  seventy- 
six  years  of  age  and  immediately  taking  his  place  as  one  of 
the  best  debaters  in  it.  His  most  noteworthy  exploit  was  his 
motion  praying  the  king  to  strike  the  first  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
name  out  of  the  list  of  members  of  the  Privy  Council,  on  account 
of  his  Currency  Bill  of  1819,  which  motion  was  rejected  by  a 
majority  of  298  to  4.  In  1834  he  was  again  elected  member 
for  Oldham,  but  his  career  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  On  the 
night  of  the  nth  of  June,  1835,  he  was  seized,  while  in  the 
country,  with  a  violent  attack  of  water  on  the  chest,  and  died  a 
few  days  afterwards,  peacefully  shutting  his  eyes  as  if  to  sleep. 
Such  was  the  life  of  William  Cobbett,  the  '  contentious 
man,'  as  Lord  Bailing  calls  him.  But  it  is  worth  while  to 
quote  his  own  epitome  of  that  life  which  he  gives  in  the 
introduction  to  his  '  Advice  to  Young  Men,'  to  show  how  well 
qualified  he  was  for  the  task  he  then  undertook.  '  ThroAvn 
(by  my  own  will  indeed)  on  the  wide  world  at  a  very  early 
age,  not  more  than  eleven  or  twelve  years,  without  money  to 
support,  without  friends  to  advise,  and  without  book-learning 
to  assist  me,  passing  a  few  years  dependent  solely  on  my  own 
labour  for  my  subsistence,  then  becoming  a  common  soldier 
and  leading  a  military  life  chiefly  in  foreign  parts  for  eight 
years,  quitting  that  life  after  really,  for  me,  high  promotion, 
and  with,  for  me,  a  large  sum  of  money,  marrying  at  an 
early  age,  going  at  once  to  France  to  acquire  the  French 
language,  thence  over  to  America,  passing  eight  years  there, 
becoming  bookseller  and  author,  and  taking  a  prominent  part 
in  all  the  important  discussions  of  the  interesting  period  from 
1793  to  1799,  during  which  there  was  in  that  country  a  con- 
tinued struggle  carried  on  between  the  English  and  the  French 
parties,  conducting  myself  in  the  ever  active  part  which  I 
took  in  that  struggle  in  such  a  way  as  to  call  forth  marks  of 
unequivocal  approbation  from  the  Government  at  home,  re- 
turned to  England  in  1800,  resuming  my  labours  here,  suf- 
fering during  these  twenty-nine  years  two  years  of  imprison- 
ment, heavy  fines,  three  years  self-banishment  to  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  a  total  breaking  of  fortune  so  as  to 
be  left  without  a  bed  to  lie  on  ;  and,  during  these  twenty-nine 
years  of  trouble  and  punishment,  writing  and  publishing  every 
week  of  my  life — whether  in  exile  or  not,  eleven  weeks  only 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  427 

excepted — a  periodical  paper  containing  more  or  less  of  matter 
worthy  of  public  attention  ;  writing  and  publishing  during 
the  same  twenty-nine  years  a  "  Grammar"  of  the  French  and 
another  of  the  English  language,  a  work  on  the  "  Economy  of 
the  Cottage,"  a  work  on  "  Forest  Trees  and  Wood  Lands,"  a 
work  on  "  Gardening,"  and  an  "  Account  of  America,"  a  book 
of  "  Sermons,"  a  work  on  the  "  Corn  Plant,"  a  "  History  of  the 
Protestant  Reformation,"  all  books  of  great  and  continuous 
sale,  and  the  last  unquestionably  the  book  of  greatest  circula- 
tion in  the  whole  world,  the  Bible  only  excepted,  having 
during  these  same  twenty-nine  years  of  troubles  and  embar- 
rassments without  number,  introduced  into  England  the  manu- 
facture of  straw-plait,  also  several  valuable  trees,  having 
introduced  during  the  same  twenty-nine  years  the  cultivation 
of  the  corn  plant,  so  manifestly  valuable  as  a  source  of  food, 
having  during  the  same  period,  always,  whether  in  exile  or 
not,  sustained  a  shop  of  some  size  in  London,  having  during 
the  whole  of  the  same  period  never  employed  less  on  an 
average  than  ten  persons  in  some  capacity  or  other,  exclusive 
of  printers,  bookbinders,  and  others  connected  with  papers 
and  books,  and  having  during  these  twenty-nine  years  of 
trouble,  embarrassments,  prisons,  fines,  and  banishments,  bred 
up  a  family  of  seven  children  to  man's  and  woman's  state.' 

Cobbett's  opinion  of  himself  and  his  own  powers  soared  far 
beyond  ordinary  vanity,  and  his  works  are  full  of  the  most 
downright  assertions  of  self-importance  and  conceit.  Thus,  to 
quote  only  one.  In  describing  a  particular  sand-hill  in  Surrey 
or  Hampshire,  down  which  he  used  to  roll  in  a  smock-frock 
when  a  boy,  and  where  he  received  the  rudiments  of  his 
education,  he  says,  '  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  if  I  had  not 
received  such  an  education  or  something  very  much  like  it, 
that  if  I  had  been  brought  up  a  milksop,  with  a  nursery-maid 
everlastingly  at  my  heels,  I  should  at  this  day  have  been  as 
great  a  fool,  as  inefficient  a  mortal,  as  any  of  those  frivolous 
idiots  that  are  turned  out  from  Winchester  and  Westminster 
Schools,  or  from  any  of  those  dens  of  dunces  called  colleges 
and  universities.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  I  owe  to 
that  sand-hill,  and  I  went  to  return  it  my  thanks  for  the 
ability  which  it  probably  gave  me  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 
terrors   to  one  of  the  greatest  and   most  powerful  bodies  of 


428  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

knaves  and  fools  that  ever  were  permitted  to  afflict  this  or  any 
other  country.'     The  next  quotation   I  shall  give  can  hardly 
be  called  a  proof  of  vanity,  but  it  is  an  amusing  indication  of 
the  character  of  his  mind.     Speaking  of  American  fire-places 
he  had  introduced  into  England,  he  says,  '  This  is  another  of 
what  the  malignant  persons  call  "  Cobbett's  quackeries  "... 
but,   really,  coming  to   conscience,  no  man   ought  to  sit  by 
one  of  these  fire-places  that  does  not  go  the  full  length  with 
me  in  politics  and  religion.      It  is  not  for  them  to  enjoy  the 
warmth  without  subscribing  to  the  opinions  of  the  giver  of 
the   warmtbx.'     One  characteristic  of  Cobbett's  style,  and   I 
think  a  faulty  one,  is  the  constant  use  of  italics  to  emphasise 
his  meaning.    This  is  also  the  case  with  Archbishop  Whately, 
than  wiiom  no  writer  ever  expressed  himself  more  clearly. 
But  I   think  that  italics,  except  in  rare  cases,  are  mistakes. 
The  collocation  of  a  sentence  ought  to  be  such  as  to  point  out 
the  proper  emphasis  of  the  word  which  the  writer  intends, 
and  ought  not  to  require  the  aid  of  finger-posts  to  direct  the 
reader  in  the  right  path.     Besides,  the  page  is  disfigured  by 
the  frequent  change  of  type.     Nothing  corresponding  to  the 
use  of  italics  was  known  to  the  authors  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  I  feel  certain  that  Cicero  never  would  have  thought  it 
necessary  to  underline  a  word  if  he  had  written  in-  English. 
But  for  examples  of  homely  vigorous  Saxon  English  I  hardly 
know  any  writer  who  can  be  compared  with  Cobbett,  and  he 
hits   with    the    force    of   a    sledge-hammer,  or,    to    vary    the 
simile,  I  may  liken  his  style  to  that   of  an  Indian  swinging 
his   tomahawk  in   the   air  and  scalping  his  victims  while  he 
dances  round  them  in  an  ecstacy  of  rage.    I  need  not  say  that 
Cobbett  was  a  hearty  hater.     I  remember  Hartley  Coleridge 
once  saying  to  me  that  he  wished  some  one  would  write  a 
poem   on   '  The   Pleasures  of  Hate  ;'  and  nobody  could  have 
done  this    like    Cobbett,  if  he  had  possessed   enough  poetic 
skill  to  manage  the  metre  and  the  rhyme.     His  'grammar'  is 
not  only  a  practical  but  a  very  amusing  book.      He  contrives 
ably  to  drag  in  his  political  opinions,  and  makes  his  exam- 
ples  and   illustrations    subservient   to  his   likes  and  dislikes. 
Thus   we  have   as    an    example    of  the    time   of  an    action 
expressed  by  a  verb,  '  The  Queen  {i.e.  Queen  Caroline)  defies 
the  tyrants,  the  Queen  defied  the  tyrants,  the  Queen  tcyY/  defiy 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  429 

the  tyrants.'  To  illustrate  the  hyphen,  we  have  '  the  ncver- 
to-be-forgottcn  cruelty  of  the  borough  tyrants.'  Under  the 
possessive  case,  '  Oliver  the  spy's  evidence,  Edwards  the 
government's  spy.'  Nouns  of  number  and  multitude  are  thus 
grouped  together  :  '  Mob,  Parliament,  Rabble,  House  of  Com- 
mons, Regiment,  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  den  of  thieves,  and 
the  like.'  '  We  may,  for  instance,  say  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, they  refused  to  hear  evidence  against  Castlereagh  when 
Mr.  Maddox  accused  him  of  having  sold  a  seat  ;  or,  //  refused 
to  hear  evidence.'  As  a  specimen  of  faulty  syntax,  '  The 
Attorney-General  Gibbs,  whose  malignity  induced  him  to  be 
extremely  violent,  and  was  listened  to  by  the  judges  ; '  and  to 
illustrate  mistakes  of  grammar,  we  have  a  chapter  headed 
'  Errors  and  Nonsense  in  a  King's  Speech,'  and  a  series  of 
lessons  '  intended  to  prevent  statesmen  from  using  false 
grammar,  and  from  writing  in  an  awkward  manner.'  The 
book  abounds  in  such  sarcastic  hits.  Of  his  'Advice  to  Young 
Men'  I  can  speak  in  terms  of  unqualified  praise.  It  is  full 
of  sound  sense,  and  is  an  admirable  manual  of  duty  for  the 
class  to  which  it  is  addressed.  One  great  charm  of  the  book- 
is  the  knowledge  we  thereby  get  of  the  personal  history  and 
character  of  the  man,  for  his  confessions  are  almost  as  candid 
as  those  of  Rousseau.  V\'e  see  him  as  he  was  ;  as  the  lover, 
the  husband,  and  the  father  of  a  family;  and  it  is  in  these 
relations  that  we  have  a  view  of  the  amiable  side  of  his 
character,  and  forget  the  fierce  and  unscrupulous  politician. 
'  Music,  indeed,'  he  says  ;  '  give  me  a  mother  singing  to  lier 
clean,  fat,  and  rosy  baby,  and  making  her  home  ring  with  her 
extravagant  and  hyperbolical  encomiums  upon  it.  That  is 
the  music  which  is  the  "  food  of  love."  '  The  man  who  wrote 
that  must  have  had  a  warm  and  tender  heart,  and  the  next 
quotation  may  be  given  as  a  companion  picture.  '  A  labourer's 
cottage  on  a  Sunday,  the  husband  or  wife  having  a  bab)-  in 
arms,  looking  at  two  or  three  other  ones  playing  between  the 
flower  borders,  going  from  the  wicket  to  the  door,  is  according 
to  my  taste  the  most  interesting  object  that  eyes  ever  beheld, 
and  it  is  an  object  to  be  beheld  in  no  country  upon  earth  but 
in  England.'  In  choosing  a  wife  Cobbctt  recommends  ratlier 
a  novel  test :  '  Get  to  see  her  at  v.ork  on  a  mutton  cliop,  or  a 
bit  of  bread  and  cheese,  and,  if  she  deals  quickly  with  these, 


43 o  ^^-^-^KS"   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

you  have  a  pretty  good  security  for  that  activity,  that  stirring 
industry,  without  which  a  wife  is  a  burden,  instead  of  being  a 
help.  Another  mark  of  industry  is  a  quick  step,  and  a  some- 
what heavy  tread,  showing  that  the  foot  comes  down  with  a 
hearty  good  will.'  My  space  prevents  me  from  quoting  even 
a  few  of  the  admirable  rules  and  maxims  contained  in  the 
book  which  range  from  lessons  of  morality  to  the  advantage 
of  learning  to  shave  with  cold  water  ;  but  I  would  especially 
recommend  the  words  of  advice  which  the  Ultra-Radical  Cob- 
bett  gives  as  a  remedy  against  discontent  :  '  It  has  pleased 
God  to  make  an  unequal  distribution  of  talent  and  industry, 
of  perseverance,  of  a  capacity  to  labour,  of  all  the  qualities 
that  give  men  distinction.  We  have  not  been  our  own 
makers  ;  it  is  no  fault  in  you  that  nature  has  placed  him  above 
you,  and  would  you  punish  him  on  account,  and  only  on 
account,  of  his  pre-eminence  } '  Of  all  Cobbett's  writings  I 
like  best  his  '  Rural  Rides  ; '  they  describe  his  excursions  on 
horseback,  accompanied  by  his  sons,  chiefly  through  the 
southern  counties  of  England,  between  the  years  1821  and 
1832,  with  economical  and  political  observations  relative  to 
matters  applicable  to  and  illustrated  by  the  state  of  those 
counties.  And  these  observations  form  the  most  amusing,  if 
not  the  most  instructive,  part  of  the  book.  They  exhibit  all 
the  strength  and  prejudice  and  bitterness  of  Cobbett's  dislikes. 
But  its  real  charm  is  the  thorough  knowledge  it  displays  of 
the  pursuits  of  rural  life,  and  the  eye  he  had  for  the  cultivated 
beauty  of  English  scenery,  '  smooth  and  verdant  downs,  in 
hills  and  valleys  of  endless  variety  as  to  height  and  depth  and 
shape  ;  rich  corn-land,  unencumbered  by  fences  ;  meadows  in 
due  proportion,  and  those  watered  at  pleasure  ;  and  lastly, 
the  homesteads  sheltered  in  winter  and  shaded  in  summer  by 
lofty  and  beautiful  trees.'  Sometimes  he  would  ride  forty 
miles  in  a  day,  with  no  other  refreshment  than  a  piece  of 
bread  and  cheese  or  a  rasher  of  bacon  and  a  little  milk  and 
water.  It  is  delightful  to  accompany  him  past  corn-fields  and 
woodlands,  and  see  pictures  before  us  by  the  hand  of  a  mas- 
ter ;  the  snug  farms  and  homesteads  of  England.  '  The 
opening  of  the  birch  leaves  is  the  signal  for  the  pheasant  to 
begin  to  crow,  for  the  blackbird  to  whistle,  and  the  thrush  to 
sing  ;  and  just  when  the  oak  buds  begin  to  look  reddish,  and 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  431 

not  a  day  before,  the  whole  tribe  of  finches  burst  forth  in  song 
from  every  bough,  while  the  lark,  imitating  them  all,  carries 
the  joyous  sound  to  the  sky.  These  are  amongst  the  means 
which  Providence  has  benignantly  appointed  to  sweeten  the 
toils  by  which  food  and  raiment  are  produced.'  And  now 
comes  one  of  the  observations — 'the  English  ploughman  could 
once  hear  without  the  sorrowful  reflection  that  he  himself  was 
a  pauper,  and  that  the  beauties  of  Nature  had  for  him  been 

scattered  in  vain O  !  accursed  paper  money. 

Has  Hell  a  torment  surpassing  the  w'ickedness  of  thy  inven- 
tor } '  Paper  money  and  the  Bank  of  England  were  the  two 
things  which  next  to  borough-mongers  and  Quakers  he  held 
most  in  abomination.  Near  Whitchurch  he  passed  by  the 
mill  where  paper  still  is  made  for  the  Bank,  and  he  thus 
anathematised  it : — '  I  hope  the  time  will  come  when  a  monu- 
ment will  be  erected  where  the  mill  stands,  and  when  on  that 
monument  will  be  inscribed  T/ic  Oirsc  of  England.  This 
spot  ought  to  be  held  accursed  in  all  times  henceforth  and  for 
evermore.'  And  again,  w'hen  describing  the  beautiful  valley 
of  Chillworth,  its  meadows,  its  hop  gardens,  and  its  ponds,  he 
bursts  forth — '  This  valley,  w^hich  seems  to  have  been  created 
by  a  bountiful  Providence,  as  one  of  the  choicest  retreats  of 
man,  which  seems  formed  for  a  scene  of  innocence  and  happi- 
ness, has  been  by  ungrateful  man  so  perverted  as  to  make  it 
instrumental  in  effecting  two  of  the  most  damnable  of  purposes, 
in  carrying  into  execution  two  of  the  most  damnable  inven- 
tions that  ever  sprang  from  the  minds  of  men  under  the 
influence  of  the  devil,  namely,  the  making  of  gunpowder  and 
of  bank-notes.'  I  will  giv^e  one  more  quotation  :  *  This  vile 
paper  money  and  funding  system,  this  system  of  Dutch 
descent,  begotten  by  Bishop  Burnet,  and  born  in  hell  ;  this 
system  has  turned  everything  into  a  gamble.'  In  his  '  Rural 
Rides'  Cobbett  almost  invariably  calls  London  the  'wen,' 
and  more  than  once  applies  to  it  the  complementary  terms 
'  smoking  and  infernal'  He  wonders  why,  with  all  his  love 
for  the  country,  his  fate  should  have  been  to  live  part  of  his 
life  in  a  town.  '  While  I  was  writing  the  last  sentence  of  the 
foregoing  paragraph,  thought  took  me  up  at  the  time  when 
I  used  to  wear  a  smock-frock  and  to  carry  a  w^ooden  bottle 
like    that    shepherd's  boy,  and  in   an  instant  it   hurried   me 


432  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

along  through  my  no  very  short  Hfe  of  adventure,  of  toil,  of 
peril,  of  ardent  friendship,  and  not  less  ardent  enmity  ;  and 
after  filling  me  with  wonder  that  a  heart  and  mind  so  wrapped 
up  in  every  thing  belonging  to  the  gardens  and  the  woods, 
should  have  been  condemned  to  waste  themselves  away 
amidst  the  stench,  the  noises,  and  the  strife  of  cities,  it 
brought  me  back  to  the  present  moment,  and  sent  my  mind 
back  to  what  I  had  yet  to  perform  about  Nicholas  Grimshaw 
and  his  ditches.'  And  again,  after  describing  Sir  Thomas 
Winnington's  seat  in  Worcestershire,  where  he  was  hospitably 
received,  he  imagines  himself  addressed  by  '  the  devil  of  lazi- 
ness,' and  tempted  to  give  up  w^ork  and  politics  and  live 
peacefully  in  such  a  spot.  '  And  such  a  pretty  place  for 
coursing,  for  hare-hunting,  and  w^oodcock-shooting,  I  dare 
say  ;  and  then  those  pretty  wild  ducks  in  the  water,  and  the 
flowers,  and  the  grass,  and  the  trees,  and  all  the  birds  in  the 
spring,  and  the  fresh  air,  and  never,  never  again,  to  be  stifled  with 
the  smoke  that  from  the  infernal  wen  ascendeth  for  evermore, 
and  that  every  easterly  wind  brings  to  choke  me  at  Kensing- 
ton. The  last  word  of  this  soliloquy  carried  me  back  slap  to 
my  own  study  (very  much  unlike  that  wdiich  I  am   in),  and 

bade  me  think  of  the  gridiron 

Ah  !  but  the  hares  and  the  pheasants,   and   the  wild   ducks. 
Yes,  but  the  delight    of  seeing  prosperity    Robinson   hang 

down  his   head  for   shame '      He  was   fond  of 

■  coursing  and  enjoying  a  gallop  with  the  harriers  as  much  as 
the  keenest  sportsman  in  England.  He  laughed  at  the  idea 
of  cruelty  to  the  hare,  and,  '  as  to  the  expense,  a  pack,  even  a 
full  pack  of  harriers  costs  less  than  two  bottles  of  wine  a  day 
with  their  inseparable  concomitants.'  He  was  delighted  with 
a  farmer's  wife  who,  to  escape  the  carriage  duty  and  avoid 
'  feeding  those  cormorants  who  gorge  on  the  taxes,'  drove 
about  in  an  ass  cart.  But  he  hoped  that  her  husband  was 
equally  self-denying,  and  did  not  use  wine  and  spirits,  because 
'  for  a  husband  to  indulge  himself  in  the  guzzling  of  expensive, 
unnecessary,  and  really  injurious  drinks,  to  the  tune  perhaps 
of  fifty  or  a  hundred  pounds  a  year,  while  he  preaches 
economy  to  his  wife,  and  with  a  face  as  long  as  my  arm  talks 
of  the  low  price  of  corn,  and  wheedles  her  out  of  a  curricle 
into  a  jack-ass  cart,  is  not  only  unjust,  but  tinmanly'     He 


WILLIAM  COBBETT.  433 

admired  the  market  at  Norwich.  '  It  resembles  one  of  the 
French  markets,  only  there  the  vendors  are  all  standing  and 
gobbling  like  parrots,  and  the  meat  is  lean  and  bloody  and 
nasty,  and  the  people  snuffy  and  grimy  in  hands  and  face  ; 
the  contrary,  precisely  the  contrary,  of  all  which  is  the  case 
in  this  beautiful  market  of  Norwich,  where  the  women  have  a 
sort  of  uniform  like  brown  great-coats,  with  white  aprons  and 
bibs  (I  think  they  call  them),  going  from  the  apron  up  to  the 
bosom.'  '  Warminster  is  a  very  nice  town  ;  everything  belong- 
ing to  it  is  solid  and  good.  There  are  no  villanous  ginger- 
bread houses  running  up,  and  no  shabby-genteel  people ;  no 
women  trapesing  about  with  showy  gowns  and  dirty  necks  ; 
no  Jew-looking  fellows  with  dandy  coats,  dirty  shirts,  and 
half-heels  to  their  boots.'  Perhaps  no  better  proof  of  the 
perversity  of  his  mind  on  some  subjects  can  be  given  than  by 
quoting  what  he  says  about  the  education  of  the  poor.  He 
affected  '  to  believe  that  the  cry  of  want  of  education  was 
intended  to  excuse  neglect  of  their  bodily  wants,  and  to  make 
reading  and  writing  supply  the  place  of  food  and  clothing.' 
In  this  view  it  was  like  giving  them  a  'stone  for  bread.' 
*  The  education  canters,'  he  says,  '  are  the  most  curious 
fellows  of  all.  They  have  seen  education,  as  they  call  it,  and 
crimes  go  on  increasing  together  till  the  gaols,  though  six 
times  their  former  dimensions,  will  hardly  suffice,  and  yet 
the  canting  creatures  still  cry  that  crimes  arise  from  want 
of  what  they  call  "  education"  !  They  see  the  felon  better 
fed  and  better  clad  than  the  honest  labourer.  They  see 
this,  and  yet  they  continually  cry  that  the  crimes  arise  from 
want  of  education  !  What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  perverse- 
ness  .''  It  is  not  perverseness  ;  it  is  roguery,  corruption,  and 
tyranny.  But  who  is  to  expect  morality  from  a  half-starved 
man  who  is  whipped  if  he  do  not  work,  though  he  has  not  for 
his  whole  day's  food  so  much  as  I  and  my  little  boy  snapped 
up  in  six  or  seven  minutes  upon  Stoke-Chants  Down  .'' ' 

But  the  strangest  book  of  all  is  his  '  History  of  the  Pro- 
testant Reformation,'  which  was  inspired  by  his  hatred  of 
pauperism  and  the  poor  laws,  both  of  which  he  attributed 
to  the  change  of  religion  that  took  place  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.  It  is  an  elaborate  acte  d' accusation  against  the 
authors  of  the  Reformation,  and  their  characters  and  conduct 

!•■  I- 


434  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

are  assailed  with  all  the  ferocity  of  a  personal  enemy.     Not 
that  he  himself  had  any  leaning  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  : 
he  professed  to  be  influenced  solely  by  a  regard  to  justice  and 
truth.     '  Born  and  bred,'  he  says,  '  a  Protestant  of  the  Church 
of  England,  having  a  wife  and  a  numerous  family  professing 
the  same    faith,   having   the  remains    of  most    dearly-loved 
parents  lying  in    a  Protestant  churchyard,  and   trusting   to 
conjugal  or  filial  piety  to  place  mine  by  their  side  ;    I  have 
in  this  undertaking  had  no  motive,  I  can  have  had  no  motive, 
but  a  sincere  and  disinterested  love  of  truth  and  justice.'     He 
tells  his  readers  at  the  outset  that  he  intends  to  show  '  that 
the   Reformation  was    engendered    in    beastly  lust,    brought 
forth    in  hypocrisy  and  perfidy,  and  cherished   and  fed   by 
plunder,  devastation,  and  by  rivers  of  innocent  English  and 
Irish  blood;  and  that,  as  to  its   more   remote  consequences, 
there  are  some  of  them  now  before  us  in  that  misery,  that 
beggary,  that  nakedness,  that  hunger,  that  everlasting  wrang- 
ling and   spite  which  now  stare  us  in  the  face  and  stun  our 
ears  at  every  turn,  and  which  the  Reformation  has  given  us  in 
exchange  for  the  ease  and  happiness,  harmony  and  Christian 
charity,  enjoyed  so  abundantly  and  for  so  many  ages  by  our 
Catholic  forefathers.'     Of  course  such  a  work,  coming  from  a 
Protestant    author,  was  welcomed    by  the    Roman    Catholic 
Church,  and  the  book  was  translated  into  Italian  xit  Rome, 
under  the  title  'Storia  della  Reforma  Protestanta  in  Inghilterra 
ed  in  Irlanda,  la  quale  dimostra  come  un  tal'avvenimento  ha 
impoverito,  e  degradato  il  governo  del  popolo  in  quel  paesi.' 
To  say  that  the  account  it  gives  is  unjust  and  unfair  is  to 
state  wdiat  is  far  short  of  the  truth.    It  is  in  many  parts  a  mere 
caricature,  and  w^ould  be  best  described  as  history  read  back- 
wards.    In  fact,  the  nature  of  Cobbett's  mind  utterly  unfitted 
him  for  the  ofiice  of  historian  of  a  period  which,  above  all  other 
periods,  requires  sound  judgment  and  freedom  from  prejudice. 
He  did  not  affect  to  be  impartial,  and  he  gloried  in  prejudice. 
The  consequence  is  that  he  sees  nothing  but  good  in  the  cause  he 
maintains,  and  nothing  but  evil  in  the  cause  that  he  condemns. 
His  favourite  theory  is  that  England  was  wealthy  and  happy 
and   populous  while  she  adhered  to  her  ancestral  faith,  and 
became  poor  and  miserable  and  decayed  when  she  renounced 
the    obedience    to  the   Pope,  and  lost    her  monasteries  and 


WILLIAM  COB  BEIT.  435 

abbeys.  Against  the  abuses  of  Peter's  pence  and  alien 
priories  he  sets  off  the  payments  made  to  foreign  princes  and 
foreign  troops.  '  How  we  Protestants,'  he  exclaims,  '  strain  at 
a  gnat  while  we  swallow  camels  by  whole  caravans  !  Mr. 
Perceval  gave  more  to  foreigners  in  one  single  year  than  the 
Pope  ever  received  from  our  ancestors  in  four  centuries.'  Papal 
supremacy  was  '  a  most  salutary  thing,'  the  only  check  then 
existing  for  despotic  power  ;  and  as  to  the  celibacy  of  the 
clergy  '  we  find,'  he  says,  '  whether  we  look  at  this  rule  in  a 
moral,  in  a  civil,  or  in  a  political  point  of  view,  that  it  was 
founded  in  wisdom,  that  it  was  a  great  blessing  to  the  people 
at  large,  and  that  its  abolition  is  a  thing  to  be  deeply  deplored.' 

*  As  to  Luther,'  he  goes  on  to  say,  *  all  accounts  agree  that 
Luther  was  a  most  profligate  man  !'  and  Cobbett  attributes 
one  of  the  motives  of  his  opposition  to  the  Pope  to  the  fact 
that  the  grant  of  Indulgences  had  been  entrusted  to  the  Order 
of  Dominicans,  and  not  to  the  Order  to  which  Luther  belonged. 

*  Perhaps,'  he  says,  'the  world  has  never  in  any  age  seen  a  nest 
of  such  atrocious  miscreants  as  Luther,  Zwinglius,  Calvin, 
Beza,  and  the  rest  of  the  distinguished  Reformers  of  the 
Catholic  religion.'  Every  one  of  them  was  '  notorious  for 
the  most  scandalous  vices,  even  according  to  the  full  confession 
of  his  own  followers  ! '  He  speaks  of  Cranmer  as  '  a  name 
which  deserves  to  be  held  in  everlasting  execration ;  a  name 
which  we  could  not  pronounce  without  almost  doubting  of  the 
justice  of  God,  were  it  not  for  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
the  cold-blooded,  most  impious,  most  blasphemous  caitiff 
expired  at  last  amidst  those  flames  which  he  himself  had 
been  the  chief  cause  of  kindling.'  He  asserts  his  belief,  on 
the  authority  of  Dr.  Bayley's  '  Life  of  Bishop  Fisher,'  that 
Anne  Boleynwas  the  daughter  as  well  as  the  wife  of  Henry  VH  I., 
and  assumes  that  she  was  guilty  of  adultery  with  four  gentlemen 
of  the  King's  household,  and  of  incest  with  her  own  brother. 
Lord  Rochfort.  I  need  only  say  that  no  proof  exists  of  the 
truth  of  any  one  of  these  charges  ;  and  even  Mr.  Froude,  who 
has  taken  such  pains  to  whitewash  the  character  of  Henry, 
and  who  has  gone  with  great  minuteness  into  the  case  of 
Anne  Boleyn,  is  not  able  to  urge  more  than  the  probabiliiy 
of  her  guilt,  devised  from  the  so-called  confession  of  Smcton, 
and  her  own  admissions  of  professions  of  love  made  to  her  by 

F   F   2 


436  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

Norris    and   Weston.       I    must,    however,    say  in   justice  to 
Mr.  Froude,  with  whose  estimate  of  Henry  VIII.   I  wholly 
disagree,  that  he  has  in  this  instance  stated  the  case  on  both 
sides  with  much  fairness  and   impartiality,  and   in  this,  as  in 
other  respects,  he  is  as  unlike  as  possible  to  Cobbett.     Of 
course  Queen  Elizabeth  comes  in  for  a  good  share  of  abuse. 
She  is  '  the  racking  and  ripping-up  Betsey,  the  worst  woman 
that  ever  existed  in  England  or  in  the  whole  world,  Jezebel 
herself  not  excepted ;  while  Queen   Mary  is  an  example  of 
fidelity,  sincerity,  patience,  resignation,  generosity,  gratitude, 
and  purity  in  thought,  word,  and  deed.'    But,  to  show  Cobbett's 
fitness  to  be  the  historian  of  the  Reformation,  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  quote  only  one  other  passage  in  which  he  seeks  to  excuse,  if 
not  justify,  the  murders  of  the  Protestant  martyrs,  on  the 
ground  that  they  '  were  generally  a  set  of  most  wicked  wretches 
who  sought  to  destroy  the  Queen  and  her  Government,  and 
under  the  pretence  of  conscience  and  superior  piety  to  obtain 
the  means  of  again  preying  upon  the  people.'     The  following 
is  a  good  specimen  of  his  picturesque  style  and  the  way  in 
which  he  mingles  description  and  abuse.     '  Go  into  my  county 
and  survey  even  at  this  day  the  ruins  of  its  perhaps  twenty 
abbeys  and  priories,  and  then  ask  yourself,  "  What  have  we  in 
exchange  for  these  T     Go  to  the  site  of  some  once  opulent 
convent.     Look  at  the  cloister,  now  become  in  the  hands  of 
some  rack-renter  the  receptacle  for  dung,  fodder,  and  faggot 
wood.     See  the  hall  where  for  ages  the  widow,  the  orphan,  the 
aged,  and  the  stranger  found  a  table  ready  spread.     See  a  bit 
of  its  wall  now  helping  to  make  a  cattle  shed,  the  rest  having 
been  hauled  away  to  build   a  warehouse.     Recognise  in  the 
side  of  a  barn  a  part  of  the  once  magnificent  chapel  ;  and  if, 
chained    to    the   spot    by  your  melancholy  musings,  you  be 
admonished  of  the  approach  of   night  by  the  voice   of  the 
screech-owl  from  those  arches,  which  once  at  the  same  hour 
resounded  with  the  vespers  of  the  monk,  and  which  have  for 
700  years  been  assailed  by  storms  and  tempests  in  vain  ;  if 
thus  admonished  of  the  necessity  of  seeking  food,  shelter,  and 
a  bed,  lift  up  your  eyes,  and  look  at  the  white-washed  and  dry- 
rotten  shed  on  the  hill  called  the  "  Gentleman's  House  ;  "  and 
apprised  of  the  "  board  wages  "  and  "  spring  guns,"  v/hich  are 
the   signs  of  his  hospitality,  turn  your  head,  joj  av/ay  from 


WILLIAM  COBBETT,  437 

the  scene  of  former  comfort  and  grandeur ;  and  with  old 
EngHsh  welcoming  in  your  mind,  reach  the  nearest  inn,  and 
then  in  a  room,  half  warmed  and  half  lighted,  \\\\h.  a  re- 
ception precisely  proportioned  to  the  presumed  length  of 
your  purse,  sit  down  and  listen  to  an  account  of  the  hypocritical 
pretences,  the  base  motives,  the  tyrannical  and  bloody  means, 
under  which,  from  which,  and  by  which  the  ruin  you  have  been 
witnessing  was  effected,  and  the  hospitality  you  have  lost  was 
for  ever  banished  from  the  land  !'  But  I  must  now  stop.  I 
will  only  add  one  quotation,  which  will,  I  think,  give  a  better 
idea  than  any  other  of  the  character  and  temperament  of  the 
man.  In  one  of  his  works  he  says  that  he  would  desire  no 
better  epitaph  upon  his  grave  than  this  : — '  Here  lies  William 
Cobbett,  who  was  hanged  because  he  would  not  allow  the 
English  labourer  to  live  upon  the  d d  root  called  the  po- 
tato.' And  I  may  add  that  there  hangs  behind  me  an  engraving 
of  Cobbett,  which  has  been  kindly  lent  to  me  by  Mr.  Roberts  of 
Bath.  His  father  was  a  correspondent  of  Cobbett's,  and 
several  letters  written  by  the  latter  are  in  his  possession.  In 
one  of  these  Cobbett  says,  '  I  want  a  wench  to  milk  cows,  but 
she  musn't  drink  tea  or  curl  her  hair.'  Mr.  Roberts  wrote 
back  that  he  had  found  a  girl  likely  to  suit  him,  who  would 
give  up  curling  her  hair,  but  must  have  her  cup  of  tea.  To 
this  Cobbett  wrote  in  reply,  '  Dear  Roberts,  Your  tea-drinking 

wench  be  d d  !    Yours  truly,  W.  COBBETT.' 

I  hope  that  this  sketch  I  have  given  of  Cobbett's  life  and 
the  quotations  I  have  made  from  his  works  will  enable  you  to 
form  a  tolerably  correct  opinion  of  the  character  of  the  man. 
With  all  his  faults  of  prejudice  and  violence,  we  must  remem- 
ber that  he  had  to  cope  with  flagrant  abuses  in  Church  and 
State,  which  have  only  yielded  to  the  slow  growth  of  public 
opinion,  and  that  if  the  forest  of  such  abuses  has  been  cut 
down  some  thanks  are  due  to  the  rough  pioneer  who  assailed 
them  with  his  axe.  But  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the 
politician  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  writer.  If  any  one 
wishes  to  form  a  clear,  manly,  vigorous  style,  and  strengthen 
that  style  with  the  strength  of  Saxon  English,  let  him  study 
the  pages  of  William  Cobbett. 


438  ASSAYS   CRITICAL   AND   NARRATIVE. 


THE   RULES    OF   EVIDENCE   AS  APPLICABLE 
TO  THE  CREDIBILITY  OF  HISTORY} 

To  believe  without  any  evidence  at  all  is  irrational  ;  but  to 
disbelieve  against  sufficient  evidence  is  equally  irrational. 

By  sufficient  evidence  I  mean  such  an  amount  of  proof  as 
satisfies  an  unprejudiced  mind  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt. 
Mathematical  truth  alone  admits  of  demonstration.  All  other 
kinds  of  truth  can  only  be  proved  by  probabilities,  which  vary 
in  an  almost  infinite  degree,  from  the  faintest  kind  of  pre- 
sumption to  what  is  called  moral  certainty,  which  is  accepted 
as  practically  equivalent  to  demonstration. 

Upon  evidence  depends  all  our  knowledge  of  past  events  ; 
and  it  is  astonishing  how  little  is  often  sufficient  to  satisfy  us. 
The  mere  fact  of  its  being  written  in  a  book  is  enough  to 
make  no  inconsiderable  number  of  readers  believe  in  the 
truth  of  a  statement,  without  reflecting  whether  the  author 
had  or  had  not  the  means  of  ascertaining  the  truth — for  if  he 
had,  we  may  be  justified  in  putting  faith  in  his  honesty ;  but 
if  he  had  not,  his  own  assertion  is  worth  nothing. 

By  proof,  I  mean  anything  that  serves,  either  mediately  or 
immediately,  to  convince  the  mind  of  the  truth  or  falsehood 
of  a  fact  or  proposition  ;  and  proofs  differ  according  to  the 
subject-matter  of  the  thing  to  be  proved. 

One  of  the  most  common,  and,  at  the  same  time,  most 
satisfactory  modes  of  proof  as  to  things  which  do  not  fall 
within  the  experience  of  the  senses  is  Induction,  by  which  is 
meant  the  inference  drawn  from  proved  or  admitted  facts.  It 
is  for  instance  by  induction  that  the  general  facts  of  Natural 
History  are  proved.  When  we  say  that  all  ruminant  animals 
are  cloven-footed,  we  cannot  show  any  necessary  connection 
between  these  physical  phenomena  ;  but,  having  ascertained 
by  a  very  large  number  of  instances  that  they  co-exist,  and 

'  A  Lecture  delivered  before  the  Victoria  Institute  or  Philosophical  Society  of 
Great  Britain,  March,  1S74. 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE.  ^39 

that  in  no  single  case  that  has  come  under  the  observation  of 
naturahsts  they  fail,  we  are  led  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  proposition  is  universally  true,  and  we  should  pre- 
dicate with  confidence  if  a  new  race  of  animals  were  dis- 
covered in  some  hitherto  unknown  region,  that  if  they  are 
ruminants  they  are  also  cloven-footed.  The  underlying  ground 
of  belief  in  this  case  is  our  innate  conviction  of  the  prevalence 
of  uniformity  in  Nature  in  things  of  the  same  kind.  This 
uniformity  we  call  a  Law. 

One  test  of  the  probability  of  a  fact  is  its  consistency  with 
other  facts  previously  known  or  admitted  to  be  true — such  as 
the  constitution  of  human  nature,  the  ordinary  course  of 
events,  or  some  well-established  truth.  But  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  as  Laplace  has  said,  although  perhaps  in  a  different 
sense,  that  '  Probability  has  reference  partly  to  our  ignorance, 
partly  to  our  knowledge.'  We  must  be  tolerably  sure  we  do 
know  the  other  facts,  and  that  they  are  not  really  incon- 
sistent with  the  fact  in  dispute.  Otherwise  we  shall  be 
following  the  example  of  the  King  of  Siam,  who  rejected  as 
incredible  the  statement  of  the  Dutch  Ambassador,  that  water 
could  become  a  solid  mass.  This  was  simply  because  he  had 
never  seen  or  heard  of  it  before  ;  and  it  was  contrary  to  his 
limited  experience,  or  what  he  thought  a  law  of  nature. 
Hume  felt  the  difficulty  of  this  instance  in  the  way  of  his 
argument  against  miracles,  and  attempts  to  get  over  it  by 
saying  that  though  the  fact  was  not  contrary  to  the  king's 
experience,  it  was  not  conformable  to  it.  But  this  is  not  a 
fair  way  of  putting  it.  Frost  zvas  contrary  to  the  king's 
experience  as  much  as  walking  on  the  water  without  support 
is  contrary  to  ours.  And  it  cannot  be  denied  that  when  by 
universal  experience  certain  laws  of  nature  are  known  to 
exist,  it  requires  the  strongest  possible  evidence  to  make  us 
believe  in  any  deviation  from  them.  Hume's  famous  argument 
against  miracles  is,  that  no  testimony  is  sufficient  to  establish 
a  miracle,  unless  the  testimony  be  of  such  a  kind  that  its 
falsehood  would  be  more  miraculous  than  the  fact ;  and  that 
no  human  testimony  can  have  such  force  as  to  prove  a 
miracle,  because  it  is  always  more  likely  that  the  testimony 
should  be  false  than  that  the  miracle  should  be  true. 

The  late  John  Stuart   Mill  has  dealt  with  this  argument 


440  £SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

in  his  '  Logic,'  and,  I  think,  conclusively.  He  says  that  Hume's 
celebrated  doctrine,  that  nothing  is  credible  which  is  contrary 
to  experience,  or  at  variance  with  the  laws  of  nature,  is  merely 
the  very  plain  and  harmless  proposition  that  whatever  is  con- 
trary to  a  complete  induction  is  incredible.  And  he  goes  on 
to  show  that  any  alleged  fact  is  only  contradictory  to  a  law 
of  causation  when  it  is  said  to  happen  without  an  adequate 
counteracting  cause.  '  Now,'  says  Mill,  '  in  the  case  of  an 
alleged  miracle  the  assertion  is  the  exact  opposite  of  this  .  ,  .  . 
A  miracle  is  no  contradiction  to  the  law  of  cause  and  effect ; 
it  is  a  new  effect  supposed  to  be  produced  by  the  introduction 
of  a  new  cause.'  He  adds,  truly  enough,  '  that  if  we  do  not 
already  believe  in  supernatural  agencies  no  miracle  can  prove 
to  us  their  existence.'  And  we  may  freely  admit,  with  him» 
that  '  there  is  an  antecedent  improbability  in  every  miracle^ 
which,  in  order  to  outweigh  it,  requires  an  extraordinary 
strength  oi  antecedent  probability  derived  from  the  special  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case.'  I  shall  have  occasion  to  allude  to  the 
subject  of  miracles  again  hereafter. 

History, from  the  Greek  'la-ropla,  properly  signifies  '  investi- 
gation '  or  '  research,'  and  implies,  therefore,  etymologically,  a 
narrative  based  upon  inquiry  about  facts. 

Few  persons  consider  what  the  evidence  is  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  books  attributed  to  authors  who  lived  before  the  in- 
vention of  printing,  most  of  which  are  derived  from  manu- 
scripts which  themselves  were  only  copies,  the  originals  having 
been  utterly  destroyed  or  lost.  This  includes  all  the  histories 
of  Greece  and  Rome  written  by  classic  authors.  I  have  dealt 
with  this  subject  in  a  lecture  I  delivered  in  1872,  in  the  Hall 
of  the  Inner  Temple,  which  has  since  been  published  under 
the  title  of  '  History  of  Ancient  Manuscripts.'  I  have  not 
time  to  enter  upon  it  here,  but  it  is  a  very  interesting  subject 
of  inquiry.  I  will  only  mention  what  Tischendorf,  the  great 
German  Biblical  scholar  says,  about  the  manuscripts  of  the 
New  Testament :  '  Providence  has  ordained  for  the  New 
Testament  more  sources  of  the  greatest  antiquity  than  are 
possessed  by  all  the  old  Greek  literature  put  together.' 

In  one  of  his  essays  Lord  Macaulay  says  of  History:  — 
'  Perfectly  and  absolutely  true  it  cannot  be  :  for  to  be  per- 
fectly and  absolutely  true,  it  ought  to  record  a//  the  slightest 


HISTORICAL   EVIDENCE.  441 

particulars  of  the  slightest  transactions — all  the  things  done 
and  all  the  words  uttered  during  the  time  of  which  it  treats. 
The  omission  of  any  circumstances,  however  insignificant, 
would  be  a  defect.  If  history  were  written  thus,  the  Bodleian 
Library  would  not  cc>ntain  the  occurrences  of  a  week.'  And 
Lord  Macaulay  might  have  added  that  no  one  would  care  to 
have  such  a  mass  of  useless  verbiage  in  existence.  He  is 
surely  wrong  in  saying  that  history  is  not  absolutely  true 
simply  because  it  does  not  give  us  all  the  particulars  of  the 
slightest  transactions.  Even  in  a  court  of  justice  we  do  not 
think  that  a  witness  is  not  telling  the  absolute  truth  because 
he  does  not  relate  every  particular,  however  insignificant,  of 
the  fact  or  conversation  to  which  he  deposes.  And  this  leads 
me  to  consider  the  difference  between  historical  and  judicial 
evidence.  The  late  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis  says  in  that 
most  valuable  and  learned  Avork, '  The  Credibility  of  the  Early 
Roman  History'  (Preface,  p.  16),  'Historical  evidence,  like 
judicial  evidence,  is  founded  on  the  testimony  of  credible 
witnesses.  Unless  those  witnesses  had  personal  and  imme- 
diate perception  of  the  facts  which  they  report,  unless  they 
said  and  heard  what  they  undertake  to  relate  as  having 
happened,  their  evidence  is  not  entitled  to  credit.  As  all 
original  witnesses  must  be  contemporary  with  the  events 
which  they  attest,  it  is  a  necessary  condition  for  the  credi- 
bility of  a  witness  that  he  be  a  contemporar}^  though  a  con- 
temporar)'  is  not  necessarily  a  credible  witness.  Unless, 
therefore,  a  historical  account  can  be  traced  by  probable  proof 
to  the  testimony  of  contemporaries,  the  first  condition  of 
credibility  fails.'  If,  however,  it  is  meant  to  be  asserted  that 
the  same  degree  of  certainty  ought  to  be  required  in  historical 
that  is  required  in  judicial  evidence,  it  would  be  exacting  too 
much,  and  carrying  scepticism  too  far.  In  the  first  place, 
the  thing  is  an  impossibility,  and  the  consequence  would  be, 
that  we  should  be  logically  compelled  to  withhold  our  belief 
from  nine-tenths  of  so-called  historical  facts  about  which  we 
have  really  no  doubt  at  all.  But,  secondl}',  the  circumstances 
are  wholly  different.  Judicial  inquiries  relate  to  minute  and 
special  facts  in  dispute,  \Ahere  two  parties  are  opposed  to 
each  other,  and  it  is  the  duty  and  interest  of  both  to  adduce 
the  best  evidence  of  which  the  thing  to  be  proved  is  suscep- 


442  £SSAVS   CRITIC  A  T^   AiM)   NARRATIVE. 

tible.  And  in  all  civilised  communities  their  systems  of 
jurisprudence  lay  down  technical  rules  of  evidence — in  some 
countries  much  more  strict  than  in  others — which  circum- 
scribe the  range  of  proofs.  For  instance,  in  France,  hearsay 
evidence  is  always  admitted  ;  in  England  it  is  always  excluded. 
In  some  parts  of  Germany  a  sort  of  arithmetical  scale  is 
applied  to  the  testimony  of  witnesses.  Different  countries 
apply  different  rules  of  legal  presumption,  which  are  really 
not  instruments  of  truth,  but  technical  and  positive  modes  of 
quieting  controversy.  But,  to  quote  the  words  of  an  eminent 
writer  on  the  law  of  evidence,  '  However  widely  different  codes 
may  vary  from  each  other  in  matters  of  arbitrary  positive 
institution,  and  of  mere  artificial  creation,  the  general  means 
of  investigating  the  truth  of  contested  facts  must  be  common 
to  all.  Every  rational  system  which  provides  the  means  of 
proof  must  be  founded  on  experience  and  reason,  on  a  well- 
grounded  knowledge  of  human  nature  and  conduct,  on  a  con- 
sideration of  the  value  of  testimony,  and  on  the  weight  due 
to  coincident  circumstances.' — Starkie,  '  On  the  Law  of  Evi- 
dence '  (Preface). 

But  History  deals  with  general  rather  than  particular  facts 
— with  results  rather  than  details — and  from  the  nature  and 
necesssity  of  the  case  must  be  content  with  looser  modes  of 
proof  than  is  necessary  or  expedient  in  judicial  trials.  All 
that  we  are  entitled  to  ask  from  her  is  such  an  amount  of 
evidence  for  the  truth  of  the  facts  which  she  records  as  would 
satisfy  the  understanding  of  a  reasonable  man  in  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life.  Every  day  we  act  upon  evidence  which,  if 
offered  in  a  court  of  justice,  would  be  rejected.  Too  often  we 
act  upon  very  slight  and  insufficient  evidence,  especially  in 
cases  affecting  the  character  of  others,  but  in  so  far  as  we  do 
this  we  act  wrongly  ;  and  in  the  same  manner  we  act  wrongly 
when  we  accept  as  true  the  mere  statement  of  a  historian  on 
any  question  where  truth  is  of  importance,  when  we  have  it  in 
our  power  to  examine  his  authorities  and  judge  of  their  value 
for  ourselves. 

It  is  part  of  the  constitution  of  human  nature  to  confide 
in  the  veracity  of  others.  If  this  were  not  so  a  man's  belief 
would  be  limited  to  matters  within  his  own  personal  experi- 
ence, and  no  progress  could  be  made  in  knowledge,  nor  would 


HISTORICAL   EVIDENCE.  443 

improvement  be  possible.  Tliere  is  a  tacit  assumption  when 
we  yield  to  the  force  of  oral  evidence  of  what  I  may  call  the 
major  premiss  of  our  syllogism,  viz.,  that  men  will  generally 
speak  the  truth.  Experience  teaches  us,  if  indeed  it  is  not  an 
intuitive  impulse,  to  put  faith  in  human  testimony. 

How  beautiful  is  the  trusting  simplicity  of  childhood,  and 
the  absolute  reliance  which  a  child  places  in  the  word  of  its 
parents  !     But  as  we  grow  older  this  confidence  is  shaken, 
and  experience  compels  us  to  acquiesce  in  the  truth  of  the 
melancholy  maxim  of  Lord  Chatham,  that  '  confidence  is  a 
plant  of  slow  growth  in  an  aged  bosom.'     That  stern  monitor 
experience  tells  us  that  it  by  no  means  follows  that  because 
we  have  contemporary  testimony  to  a  fact  the  fact  is  true. 
Witnesses  are  often  mistaken,  and  their  evidence  is  not  unfre- 
quently  false.     We  must,  therefore,  so  far  as  is  possible,  apply 
certain  rules  by  which  to  test  the  probability  of  its  truth.     I 
have  already  alluded  to  one  test  of  probability,  and  that  is 
the  agreement  of  the  fact  with  other  facts  known  or  admitted 
to  be  true.     Another  test  is  the  concurrence  of  the  testimony 
of  independent  witnesses,  always  supposing  that  each  of  them 
has  had  the  means  of  knowing  the  fact  or  facts  to  be  ascer- 
tained.    Of  course    I    exclude    all    copying   from   the  same 
original,  and  this,  perhaps,  is  implied  in  the  word  indepen- 
dent.    As  Archbishop  Whately  has  observed,  '  For  though  in 
such  a  case  each  of  the  witnesses  should  be  considered  as 
unworthy  of  credit,   and   even    much    more  likely  to  speak 
falsehood    than    truth,    still    the    chances    might    be    infinite 
against  their  all  agreeing  in  the  same  falsehood  '  ('  Rhetoric,'  pt. 
i.  ch.   ii.  sec.   4).     And   in  his  *  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,'  Dr. 
Campbell    says,  '  It  deserves  likewise  to  be  attended  to  on 
this  subject,  that  in  a  number  of  concurrent  testimonies  (in 
cases  wherein  there  could  have  been  no  previous    concert) 
there  is  a  probability  distinct  from  that  which  may  be  termed 
the  sum  of  the  probabilities  resulting  from  the  testimonies  of 
the  witnesses,  a  probability  which  would  remain  even  though 
the  witnesses  were  of  such  a  character  as  to  merit  no  faith  at 
all.      This    probability    arises    purely    from    the    concurrence 
itself     That  such  a  concurrence  should  spring  from  chance  is 
as  one  to  infinite  ;  that  is,  in  other  words,  morally  impossible.' 
Lord  Mansfield  once  said,  with  reference  to  the  credit  to  be 


444  J^SSAVS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE.   ' 

given  to  certain  reporters,  '  It  is  objected  that  these  arc  books 
of  no  authority  ;  but  if  both  the  reporters  Avere  the  worst  that 
ever  reported,  if  substantially  they  report  a  case  in  the  same 
way,  it  is  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  what  they  report,  or 
they  could  not  agree'  {R.  v.  George,  i  Cowp.  i6). 

Generally  speaking,  the  silence  of  contemporary  writers  as 
to  a  fact  throws  strong  suspicion  on  its  genuineness.  But  this 
test  is  not  conclusive,  for  we  may  have  overpowering  evidence 
aliunde  of  its  truth.  Lord  Macaulay  says,  'We  have  read 
books  called  histories  of  England  under  the  reign  of  George  II. 
in  which  the  rise  of  Methodism  is  not  even  mentioned.'  And 
Varnhagen  von  Ense  mentions  in  his  Diary  that  Humboldt 
had  adduced  '  three  important  and  perfectly  undeniable 
matters  of  fact  as  to  which  no  evidence  is  to  be  found  where 
it  would  be  most  anticipated.  In  the  archives  of  Barcelona 
no  trace  of  the  triumphal  entry  of  Columbus  into  that  city  ; 
in  Marco  Polo  no  allusion  to  the  Chinese  Wall ;  in  the 
archives  of  Portugal  nothing  about  the  voyages  of  Amerigo 
Vespucci  in  the  service  of  that  crown.'  But  notwithstanding 
this,  the  silence  of  contemporary  authority  is  one  of  the  notes 
of  falsehood  with  respect  to  an  alleged  historical  fact.  How 
do  we  know  that  the  story  of  William  Tell  and  his  shooting 
an  arrow  at  an  apple  on  his  son's  head  is  untrue  .?  Because  we 
do  not  find  it  in  contemporary  history ;  and  the  first  mention 
of  it  as  a  Swiss  legend  occurs  in  the  chronicle  of  Melchior 
Russ,  registrar  at  Lucerne,  some  two  hundred  years  later. 
But,  in  addition,  Ave  find  that  the  same  story  is  told  in  Saxo 
Grammaticus,  who  wrote  in  the  twelfth  century,  of  a  Danish 
hero  ;  a  similar  tale  was  current  in  Ireland  ;  and  in  the 
Bilkinsaga  it  is  told  of  the  mythical  Eigil,  the  brother  of 
Wieland,  the  smith.  It  also  occurs  in  the  legendary  fables  of 
Holstein,  Norway,  and  other  countries  ;  and  although  it  is 
impossible  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  story,  it  is  certain  that 
no  such  occurrence  happened  in  Switzerland.  It  is  one  of 
the  enfants  trouves  of  historical  literature,  which  can  lay  no 
claim  to  legitimate  paternity. 

Why  do  we  reject  the  story  of  the  blind  Belisarius  begging 
his  bread  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople  .''  Because  Proco- 
pius,  who  was  a  contemporary  historian,  and  accompanied 
Belisarius  in  his  Eastern  wars,  in  Africa,  and  in  Italy,  says 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE.  445 

nothing,  in  his  account  of  the  Hfe  and  misfortunes  of  Justinian's 
famous  general,  of  his  bhndness  or  beggary  ;  because  no  other 
contemporary  writer  mentions  them  ;  and  because  the  first 
hint  of  them  occurs  in  some  Greek  verses  written  by  John 
Tzetes,  a  grammarian,  about  six  hundred  years  after  the 
death  of  Behsarius.  Why  do  we  not  believe  the  fable  of  Pope 
Joan,  whose  accouchement  is  said  to  have  taken  place  in  the 
midst  of  a  procession  at  Rome?  Because  no  contemporary 
author  makes  mention  of  such  an  astounding  occurrence,  and 
we  find  the  first  allusion  to  it  in  the  Chronicou  of  Marianus 
Scotus,  who  lived  two  hundred  years  afterwards.  And  even 
the  passage  there  is  said  to  be  an  interpolation.  I  believe 
that  the  first  Vvriter  who  really  tells  the  story,  is  Stephen  de 
Bourbon,  in  the  thirteenth  century.  A  not  improbable  ex- 
planation of  it  is  that  one  of  the  Popes,  who  led  an  immoral 
life,  had  a  mistress  named  Joan,  who  had  such  influence  over 
him  that  she  was  called  Papcssc,  and  from  this  the  story  had 
its  origin. 

Why  do  intelligent  and  well-educated  men  accept  as  true 
the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament,  and  reject  as  untrue  the 
legends  of  the  Saints .'  This  is  not  the  place,  nor  would  it  be 
possible  within  the  limits  to  which  I  must  confine  myself,  to 
go  into  the  proofs  of  the  miracles  related  in  the  Gospels  and 
the  Acts.  But  briefly  and  summarily  it  may  be  said  that  we 
believe  them, —  i.  Because  they  are  recorded  by  eye-witnesses, 
who  must  either  have  been  the  dupes  of  an  imposture  or  the 
fabricators  of  a  falsehood.  2.  They  were  done  openly  in  the 
face  of  enemies  who,  so  far  as  we  know,  never  denied  them. 

3.  They  were    done    with   an  adequate    motive    and    cause. 

4.  They  serve  to  explain  the  origin  of  a  religion  which  has 
lasted  for  eighteen  centuries  and  won  its  way  in  spite  of  the 
fiercest  opposition.  Now,  applying  these  tests  to  the  legends 
of  the  Saints,  we  find  that  they  fail  in  almost  every  particular  ! 
Hardly  any  of  them  rest  on  the  testimony  of  eye-witnesses. 
They  are  almost  always  isolated  acts  done  in  a  corner,  and 
not  coram  populo.  And  the  most  famous  of  them,  which  is  an 
exception  to  the  rule,  I  mean  the  cutting  out  of  the  roots  of 
the  tongues  of  a  number  of  Christians  at  Tipasa,  who  after- 
wards spoke  articulately  and  distinctly,  has  been  shown  by 
Mr.  Twistleton  in  his  able  work,  '  The  Tongue  not  essential 


446  £SSAyS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

to  Speech,'  to  be  no  miracle  at  all,  but  the  effect  of  natural 
causes  as  appears  from  many  recorded  parallel  cases.  More- 
over, the  mediaeval  miracles  are  for  the  most  part  silly,  un- 
meaning, and  childish,  and  they  are  often  recorded  by  writers 
who  lived  long  after  they  are  said  to  have  occurred,  who 
breathed  an  atmosphere  of  credulity  and  were  utterly  destitute 
of  the  critical  faculty.  Such  considerations  are  quite  sufficient 
to  justify  our  unbelief.  If  it  is  objected  that  intelligent  Roman 
Catholics  believe  them,  we  answer  that  they  are  the  disciples 
of  a  system  which  forbids  the  right  of  private  judgment  on 
questions  determined  by  the  authority  of  the  Church  ;  and  we 
may  well  think  it  easy  for  men  who  believe  in  the  doctrines  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception  and  the  Infallibility  of  the  Pope, 
to  believe  also  in  the  winking  of  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  the 
liquefaction  of  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius,  and  the  transporta- 
tion, through  the  air,  of  a  house  of  the  Virgin  from  Palestine 
to  Loretto.  Thus  we  find  a  man  of  the  intelligence  of  Dr. 
Newman  saying,  'Crucifixes  have  bowed  the  head  to  the  sup- 
pliant, and  Madonnas  have  bent  their  eyes  on  assembled 
crowds.  St.  Januarius's  blood  liquefies  periodically  at  Naples, 
and  St.  Winifred's  well  is  the  source  of  wonders  even  in  an  un- 
believing country  ....  St.  Francis  Xavier  turned  salt 
water  into  fresh  for  five  hundred  travellers  ;  St.  Raymond 
was  transported  over  the  sea  on  his  cloak  ;  St.  Andrew  shone 

brightly  in  the  dark I  need  not  continue  the 

catalogue.  It  is  agreed  on  both  sides  ;  the  two  parties  join 
issue  over  a  fact — that  fact  is  the  claim  of  miracles  on  the 
part  of  the  Catholic  Church.  It  is  the  Protestant's  charge, 
and  it  is  our  glory.' 

I  may  here  in  passing  allude  to  the  monstrous  theory  of 
Strauss  that  the  simple  narratives  in  the  four  Gospels  are 
mere  myths,  which  grew  out  of  a  body  of  belief  which,  some- 
how or  other,  had  taken  possession  of  men's  minds  in  the 
second  century  of  our  era,  and  are  no  more  real  than  the 
legends  of  Theseus  and  Hercules.  Our  common  sense  revolts 
against  such  an  absurdity ;  and,  if  Strauss  himself  really 
believed  it,  it  only  shows  that  no  credulity  can  be  greater  or 
more  childish  than  the  credulity  of  an  infidel. 

Why  do  we  believe  Thucydidcs  and  disbelieve  Livy  .''  I 
shall  speak  of  both   of  these  writers  more  fully  hereafter,  but 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE.  447 

here  I  may  say  that  we  beheve  Thucydidcs  because  he  was 
a  contemporary  of  the  events  ^\■hich  he  relates  ;  he  was 
himself  an  actor  in  some  of  them  ;  he  had  access  to  authentic 
information,  both  oral  and  monumental,  and  we  have  no 
reason  to  distrust  his  veracity.  Of  course  I  do  not  include 
the  long  speeches  he  puts  into  the  mouths  of  the  characters 
he  introduces,  for  they  are  obviously  manufactured,  or,  at  all 
events,  dressed  up  for  the  occasion,  according  to  a  practice 
very  common  in  antiquity.  We  disbelieve  a  great  part  of  the 
narrative  of  Livy  for  the  following  reasons  : — We  know  that  he 
could  have  had  no  trustworthy  authority  for  many  of  his 
statements  respecting  the  early  history  of  Rome  :  some  of 
those  statements  are  intrinsically  improbable,  if  not  incredible: 
he  lived  centuries  later  than  many  of  the  events  which  he 
records,  and  he  had  not  the  critical  faculty  which  enables  an 
historian  of  the  past,  by  a  kind  of  instinct,  to  separate  the 
true  from  the  false.  To  this  I  must  add  the  essentially 
Roman  prejudice  in  favour  of  everything  that  would  tell 
in  favour  of  the  greatness  and  glory  of  Rome.  Hence  his 
unfair  account  of  the  early  wars  of  the  Republic,  and  the 
injustice  with  which  he  has  treated  Hannibal. 

We  believe  the  story  of  the  Anabasis  and  Retreat  of  the 
Ten  Thousand,  because  the  historian  was  the  general  who 
commanded  the  Greeks  in  that  famous  expedition  ;  but  we 
reject  his  fables  about  dreams,  omens,  and  prophecies,  because 
we  know  that  he  was  credulous  about  such  things,  and  they 
were  not  matters  which  came  within  the  scope  of  his  own 
personal  observation. 

Our  own  early  historians  were  as  careless  as  their  readers 
were  credulous.  King  Lear,  the  son  of  Bladud,  was  accepted 
as  an  historical  personage  ;  and  even  Milton,  in  his  'History 
of  England,'  admits  the  fable  '  of  Brutus  and  his  line  with  the 
whole  progeny  of  Kings  to  Julius  Caisar,'  although  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  see  that  he  has  little  faith  in  it.  But  he  says, 
'certain  or  uncertain,  be  that  upon  the  credit  of  those  whom 
I  must  follow  ;  so  far  as  keeps  aloof  from  impossible  and 
absurd,  attested  by  ancient  writers  from  books  more  ancient, 
I  refuse  not  as  the  due  and  proper  subject  of  story,'  Now, 
Avhy  do  we  refuse  to  believe  the  narrative  }  Simply  because, 
although  it  may  contain  nothing  '  impossible  or  absurd,'  which 


448  £SSj^VS   critical   AND  NARRATIVE. 

is  Milton's  sole  rule  of  exception,  we  know  that  the  authors 
could  not  possibly  have  had  any  authentic  information  about 
the  facts  which  they  record.  A  child  is  as  competent  to  write 
history  as  a  grown-up  man,  if  the  statements  of  preceding 
authors  are  merely  servilely  copied,  and  no  critical  examina- 
tion is  made  of  the  sources  of  their  authority  and  the  means 
they  had  of  ascertaining  the  truth. 

Dates  are  often  of  the  utmost  importance  in  verifying 
historical  facts,  but  the  dates  themselves  are  sometimes  uncer- 
tain. In  Grecian  history  the  general  custom  was  to  reckon 
by  the  year  of  the  Olympiad,  and  therefore  it  is  essential  to 
know  the  date  of  the  first  year  of  the  first  Olympiad.  Now, 
how  do  we  ascertain  this .-'  If  you  will  look  into  Clinton's 
Fasti  Hcllenici,  p.  1 50,  you  will  see  that  it  is  taken  to  corre- 
spond with  'j']6  B.C.,  and  this  is  proved  by  a  curious  consensus 
of  authorities.  The  games  were  celebrated  at  intervals  of 
four  years  ;  and  if  we  know  independently  the  exact  date  of 
an  event,  and  find  it  placed  in  the  particular  year  of  a  parti- 
cular Olympiad,  we  can,  by  reckoning  backwards,  ascertain 
accurately  the  date  of  the  first.  For  instance,  we  know,  from 
contemporary  or  other  evidence,  that  the  consulships  of  C. 
Pompeius  Gallus  and  O.  Verannius  at  Rome  coincided  with 
the  first  year  of  the  207th  Olympiad,  and  we  know  the  year 
of  the  Christian  era  of  those  consulships  :  this  was  the  year 
A.D.  49.  Now,  206  Olympiads  or  824  years  had  elapsed 
since  the  beginning  of  the  first,  and  this  gives  the  year  B.C. 
'jyd  as  its  date. 

It  is  no  doubt  difficult  to  invent  wholly  so-called  historical 
facts,  which,  if  closely  compared  with  known  contemporaneous 
occurrences  and  ascertained  dates,  may  not  be  shown  to  be 
false.  But  it  is  often  still  more  difficult  to  find  the  material 
for  such  criticism.  Oblivion  may  have  swallowed  up  the 
records  of  the  past,  and  then  the  only  tests  we  can  apply  are 
the  inherent  probability  or  improbability  of  the  alleged  facts, 
their  consistency  or  inconsistency  with  themselves,  and  our 
knowledge  of  the  means  which  the  writer  possessed  of  being 
acquainted  with  their  truth.  I  have  already  pointed  out  the 
untrustworthiness  of  historical  statements  first  made  by 
authors  who  lived  long  after  the  events  which  they  record. 
And  I  have  also  shown  that  it  is  by  no  means  altogether  safe 


HISTORICAL   EVIDENCE.  4^9 

to  gauge  the  credibility  of  a  fact  by  its  agreement  or  disagree- 
ment with  probabihty  ;  but  as  regards  the  test  suppHed  by 
the  means  of  comparing  historical  allegations  with  other, 
historical  facts  which  have  been  sufficiently  proved,  some  of 
the  most  brilliant  triumphs  of  criticism  have  been  won  by 
applying  it.  My  time  is  too  limited  to  allow  me  to  adduce 
more  than  one  or  two  specimens  of  this,  and  I  think  I  cannot 
do  better  than  cite  that  splendid  example  of  scholarship  and 
criticism,  Bentley's  '  Dissertation  on  the  Genuineness  of  the 
Epistles  of  Phalaris.'  The  history  of  its  authorship  is  this  : 
About  the  year  1690,  Sir  William  Temple  published  an  essay 
upon  Ancient  and  Modern  Learning,  in  which  he  maintained 
the  superiority  of  the  ancients.  And  in  support  of  his  posi- 
tion, '  that  the  oldest  books  we  have  are  still  in  their  kind  the 
best,'  he  adduced  the  '  Fables  of  ^Esop '  and  the  '  Epistles  of 
Phalaris.'  This  attracted  attention  to  the  epistles,  and  a  new 
edition  of  them  was  given  to  the  world  by  the  Hon.  Charles 
Boyle  ;  and  then  Bentley  published  his  '  Dissertation  on  the 
Epistles  of  Phalaris,'  the  object  being  to  prove  that  they 
were  spurious.  I  may  mention,  in  passing,  that  an  amusing 
parody  of  the  original  controversy  between  the  respective 
champions  of  ancient  and  modern  learning  was  written  by 
Swift,  called  '  The  Battle  of  the  Books.'  It  may  be  interesting 
to  point  out  some  of  the  proofs  by  which  Bentley  for  ever 
destroyed  the  credit  which  had  been  given  to  these  epistles  : — 

(i.)  He  shows  that  in  them  Phalaris  speaks  of  borrowing 
money  from  the  inhabitants  of  a  town  in  Sicily  nearly  three 
centuries  before  that  town  was  built. 

(2.)  Phalaris  is  represented  as  giving  to  a  physician  a 
present  of  cups,  called  by  the  name  of  a  Corinthian  potier 
who  lived  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  Phalaris'  death. 

(3.)  Phalaris  speaks  of  Zancle  and  Messene  as  distinct 
towns,  w^hereas,  in  truth,  Zancle  was  merely  the  ancient  name 
of  Messene. 

(4.)  In  one  of  his  letters,  Phalaris  addresses  Pythagoras  as 
a  philosopher,  and  speaks  of  his  system  of  philosophy ;  whereas 
we  know  that  Pythagoras  first  called  himself  a  philo-sophos, 
or  lover  of  wisdom,  when  Leon  of  Sicyon  asked  him  what  he 
was.     And  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  the  term  was  in 

G  G 


450  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

vogue,  or  even  known  to  Phalaris,  who,  when  he  wrote   the 
letter,  had  never  seen  Pythagoras. 

(5.)  Phalaris  is  very  angry  with  Aristolochus  for  writing 
tragedies  against  him  at  a  time  when  the  word  tragedy  was 
utterly  unknown. 

(6.)  Phalaris  writes  in  Attic  Greek,  whereas,  as  a  Sicilian, 
his  dialect  would  have  been  Doric. 

Let  me  illustrate  this  kind  of  criticism  by  a  different  ex- 
ample. On  the  Monte  Cavallo— the  old  Quirinal  Hill,  at 
Rome — stand  two  colossal  statues  of  horses,  called  '  I  Colossi 
di  Monte  Cavallo.'  Under  one  pedestal  are,  or  were,  inscribed 
the  words  Opus  Plddice ;  under  the  other  Opus  Praxitelis.  But 
formerly  there  were  two  more  elaborate  inscriptions,  one  to 
the  effect  that  Phidias  had  here  sculptured  Bucephalus,  the 
horse  of  Alexander  the  Great ;  and  the  other  that  Praxiteles, 
in  competition  with  Phidias,  had  sculptured  another  figure  of 
the  same  horse,  Bucephalus.  Now  Phidias  died  somewhere 
about  432  B.C.  Praxiteles  flourished  in  364  B.C.,  nearly  a 
century  later,  and  Alexander  the  Great  was  not  born  until 
356  B.C.  This  was  too  much  for  even  the  credulity  of  a  bygone 
generation,  and  Pope  Urban  VIII.  effaced  the  inscriptions, 
and  substituted  for  them  the  simple  words  Opus  Phidice  and 
Opus  Praxitelis,  which  had  at  all  events  the  merit  of  not  being 
guilty  of  a  palpable  anachronism,  although  each  is  most  pro- 
bably absolutely  untrue.  But  such  an  anachronism  is  not 
quite  so  bad  as  that  of  the  writer  in  a  fcuillcton  of  the  '  Con- 
stitutionnel'  (supposed  to  have  been  Lamartine),  who  says, 
'  The  tombs  of  great  poets  inspire  great  passions.  It  was  at 
Tasso's  tomb  that  Petrarch  nourished  his  respectful  remem- 
brance of  Lajira  r  Now,  Petrarch  died  in  1374,  and  Tasso 
published  his  '  Gerusalemme  Liberata'  in  1581  ! 

This  is  very  different  from  any  argument  against  the 
genuineness  of  a  fact  founded  merely  on  discrepancies  of 
statement.  A  curious  instance  of  this  occurs  in  the  accounts 
given  of  the  execution  of  the  Earl  of  Argyle  in  1661.  Claren- 
don says  that  he  was  condemned  to  be  hanged,  and  executed. 
Burnet  and  Echard  say  that  he  was  beheaded.  This  has  been 
made  use  of  by  Paley,  in  his  '  Evidences  of  the  Christian 
Religion,'  with  reference  to  the  variance  in  the  statements  of 
the  Evangelists  as  to  the  circumstances  of  the  Crucifixion. 


HISTORICAL  E  VIDENCE.  4  5 1 

No  one  doubts  that  Argyle  was  executed,  which  is  the  impor- 
tant fact ;  and  there  would  be  still  less  reason  to  doubt  the 
fact  of  the  Crucifixion,  however  the  Evangelists  may  differ  in 
minute  details.  It  is,  of  course,  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
those  who  assert  the  literal  and  verbal  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  but  that  is  a  subject  foreign  to  my  purpose,  and 
too  large  to  be  dealt  with  by  a  passing  notice  in  such  an  ad- 
dress as  this. 

It  is  a  strange  paradox  that  the  belief  of  some  writers  and 
many  readers  seems  to  increase  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  the 
probabilities  of  the  case.  How  else  can  we  account  for  the 
fact  that  the  more  history  recedes  into  the  darkness  of  the 
past,  bold  statements  are  received  with  unquestioning  credu- 
lity }  Thus  Dr.  Hales  in  his  work  on  Chronology  assures  us 
that  the  thirty  reigns  of  the  Athenian  kings  and  archons  from 
Cecrops  to  Creon,  form  '  one  of  the  most  authentic  and  correct 
documents  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  profane  chrono- 
logy,'— the  truth  being  that  the  reigns  of  the  kings  are  little 
better  than  fabulous  ;  and  Biinsen,  in  his  '  Egypt's  Place  in 
Universal  History,'  undertakes  to  reconstruct  the  authentic 
chronology  of  Egypt  for  a  period  of  nearly  4,000  years  before 
Christ,  and  '  to  restore  to  the  ancient  history  of  the  world  the 
vital  energy  of  which  it  has  been  so  long  deprived,'  althou"-h 
his  chief  authorities,  independently  of  some  monumental 
inscriptions,  are  Eratosthenes  and  Manetho,  writers  who  lived 
more  than  3,000  years  after  the  period  which  they  are  sup- 
posed to  authenticate.  Now  Manetho  composed  his  history 
from  two  sources,  temple  registers  and  popular  legends.  I 
need  say  nothing  about  the  latter,  but  what  possible  ground 
have  we  for  believing  that  their  priest-kept  registers  con- 
tained true  accounts  of  events  that  happened  thirty  or  forty 
centuries  before  the  historian  inspected  them  }  Eratosthenes, 
at  the  request  of  Ptolemy,  drew  up  a  list  of  thirty-eight 
Theban  kings,  occupying  a  period  of  more  than  a  thousand 
years  ;  and  it  is  sufficient  to  say  with  Mr.  Grote  that  he 
'  delivered  positive  opinions  upon  a  point  on  which  no  suffi- 
cient data  were  accessible,  and  therefore  was  not  a  guide 
to  be  followed.  History  thus  written  is  nothing  but  clever 
guess-work,  and  amounts  to  no  more  than  plausible  conjecture 
in  which  the  chances  are  almost  infinite  that  the  narrative 


452  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

is,  if  not  wholly,  at  least  materially  wrong.  As  the  specula- 
tion of  an  ingenious  mind  it  may  be  interesting,  but  as  a 
record  of  facts  it  is  worthless.' 

In  his  Essay  on  the  uncertainty  of  the  history  of  the  first 
four  centuries  of  Rome,  in  the  '  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of 
Inscriptions,'  tome  vi.  p.  71,  M.  de  Pouilly  says,  *  History  is 
the  narrative  of  a  fact  which  we  derive  from  those  whom  we 
know  to  have  been  witnesses  of  it.  It  results  from  this  defi- 
nition that  for  a  history  to  be  authentic  its  author,  or  at  all 
events  the  person  on  whose  narrative  it  is  based,  must  have 
lived  at  the  time  when  the  events  happened.'  And  the  same 
writer  adds,  'Tradition  is  a  popular  rumour  of  which  the 
source  is  not  known.  It  is  a  chain  of  which  we  hold  one  end, 
but  the  other  is  lost  in  the  abysmal  depths  of  the  past' 

To  show  the  danger  of  trusting  to  tradition,  I  may  take 
as  an  illustration  the  amusing  game  called  *  Russian  Scandal,' 
where,  a  party  being  seated  together  in  a  row,  a  person  at  one 
end  whispers  some  story  into  the  ear  of  his  neighbour,  who 
repeats  it  in  the  same  manner  to  the  one  next  to  him,  and  so 
on  until  it  comes  to  the  last,  who'  tells  aloud  what  he  has 
heard.  It  will  be  generally  found  that  the  story  thus  trans- 
mitted varies  essentially  from  the  story  as  originally  told,  and 
the  experience  of  every  one  as  to  the  gossip  of  society  teaches 
the  same  lesson.  Laplace,  in  his  '  Essai  Philosophique  sur  les 
Probabilites,'  has  made  this  the  subject  of  a  mathematical 
calculation.  He  says,  '  Suppose  a  fact  to  be  transmitted 
throu<Th  twenty  persons  ;  the  first  communicating  it  to  the 
second,  the  second  to  the  third,  &c.,  and  let  the  probability  of 
each  testimony  be  expressed  by  nine-tenths  (that  is,  suppose 
that  of  ten  reports  made  by  each  witness  nine  only  are  true), 
then  at  every  time  the  story  passes  from  one  witness  to  an- 
other the  evidence  is  reduced  to  nine-tenths  of  what  it  was 
before.  Thus,  after  it  has  passed  through  the  whole  twenty, 
the  evidence  will  be  found  to  be  less  than  one-eighth.' 

But  belief  by  no  means  depends  upon  actual  testimony. 
We  believe  in  the  results  of  mathematical  inquiry  by  reason- 
ing. We  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  Creator  by  arguments 
drawn  from  design  and  other  considerations.  We  may  or 
may  not  believe  that  the  planets  are  inhabited  from  arguments 
drawn  from  analogy.    We  believe  many  other  facts  from  their 


IIISTORICAL  EVIDEK'CE.  453 

Inherent  probability,  and  so  on.  But  in  many  such  cases  it 
would  be  more  proper  to  speak  of  our  persuasion  than  our 
belief,  by  which  I  mean,  that  our  minds  stop  short  of  full  con- 
viction ;  but  on  weighing  the  evidence  or  arguments  on  both 
sides  in  opposite  scales,  we  see  that  the  balance  inclines  one 
way  more  than  the  other,  and  therefore  we  are  disposed  to 
think  that  such  and  such  a  proposition  is  true.  This  applies 
to  many  of  the  disputed  facts  of  History.  In  his  '  Grammar 
of  Assent,'  in  order  to  show  that  certitude  is  the  result  of 
arguments  which,  taken  in  the  letter,  and  not  in  their  full  im- 
plicit sense,  are  but  probabilities,  Newman  takes  the  case  of 
the  following  propositions  : — 

(i.)  That  we  are  absolutely  certain  that  Great  Britain  is 
an  island.  But  how  do  we  know  this .-'  Those  who  have 
actually  circumnavigated  the  country  have  a  right  to  be  cer- 
tain ;  but  which  of  us  has  done  this,  and  which  of  us  has  even 
met  with  any  one  who  tells  us  that  he  has  done  it .-'  Newman 
shows  by  the  common  arguments  that  there  would  be  a  mani- 
fest rcductio  ad  absurdinn  attached  to  the  notion  that  we  can 
be  deceived  on  such  a  point  as  this,  but  at  the  same  time  that 
we  are  satisfied  with  proof  which  is  not  of  the  highest  kind 
possible. 

(2.)  He  takes  the  question  of  the  authorship  of  the  VEneid,' 
the  plays  attributed  to  Terence,  and  the  so-called  histories  of 
Livy  and  of  Tacitus,  which  the  Abbe  Hardouin  maintained 
were  the  forgeries  of  the  monks  of  the  thirteenth  centur}-. 
We  must  not  forget  that  our  knowledge  of  the  ancient  classics 
comes  entirely  from  mediaeval  copies  of  them  made  by  monks 
from  manuscripts  which  now  no  longer  exist.  How  do  we 
know  that  some  of  these  so-called  copies  were  not  actual 
forgeries  .-* '  The  strongest  argument  against  such  a  suppo- 
sition is  our  disbelief  in  the  ability  of  mediaeval  monks  to  pro- 
duce such  works:  and  Newman  says,  justly  enough,  that  an 
instinctive  sense  of  this  and  a  faith  in  testimony  are  the  suffi- 
cient and  undeveloped  argument  on  which  to  ground  our 
certitude.  To  faith  in  testimony  we  must  add  the  absence  of 
dissentient  claims,  and  this  will  be  found  to  be  one  of  the 
most  cogent  reasons  for  our  belief. 

'   'To  forge  and  counterfeit  books     been  a  practice  almost  as  old  as  letters.' 
and  father  them  upon  great  names  has      — Bentley's  Dissertation  on  Phalaris. 


454  £SSAVS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

(3.)  Newman  asks,  What  are  my  grounds  for  thinking 
that  I,  in  my  particular  case,  shall  die  ?  What  is  the  distinct 
evidence  on  which  I  allow  myself  to  be  certain  ?  Death  to 
me  is  a  future  event.  How  do  I  know  that,  because  all  past 
generations  have  died,  the  same  law  must  hold  with  regard 
to  myself  or  others  ?  He  says,  that  the  strongest  proof  I  have 
for  my  inevitable  mortality  is  the  reductio  ad  absurdum  ;  but 
I  think  that  here  he  is  mistaken  that  there  is  reductio  ad  ab- 
surdnm,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  in  the  belief  that  I 
shall  never  die,  although  we  may  admit,  with  Newman,  that 
there  is  a  surplusage  of  belief  over  proof  when  I  determine 
that  I  individually  must  die. 

In  that  very  clever  and  amusing  Jen  d' esprit  by  Archbishop 
Whately,  '  Historic  Doubts  relative  to  Napoleon  Buonaparte,' 
he  has  shown  that  logically  we  are  not  justified  in  believing 
that  such  a  person  as  the  first  Emperor  of  the  French  ever 
existed.  To  state  such  a  proposition  seems  to  carry  with  it 
its  own  refutation,  but  the  mock-serious  argument  of  the  Arch- 
bishop is  sustained  with  wonderful  skill  and  ability.  His 
object,  of  course,  was  to  show  that  the  kind  of  reasoning  by 
which  infidels  attempt  to  shake  our  faith  in  the  narrative  of 
Scripture  ought  equally  to  shake  our  belief  in  the  existence 
of  the  first  Napoleon. 

I  will  now  say  a  few  words  about  the  father  of  History, 
Herodotus,  and  briefly  compare  him  with  Thucydides. 

In  his  'Literature  of  Greece,'  Colonel  Mure  calls  Herodotus 
'  an  essentially  honest  and  veracious  historian,'  and  says  that, 
'  rigid,  in  fact,  as  has  been  the  scrutiny  to  which  his  text  has 
been  subjected,  no  distinct  case  of  wilful  misstatement  or  per- 
version of  fact  has  been  substantiated  against  him.'  Now 
what  were  the  materials  which  Herodotus  had  for  composing 
his  history.?  They  were  (i.)  previous  histories;  (2.)  monu- 
mental records  preserved  in  national  repositories  and  religious 
sanctuaries  or  places  of  public  resort.  He  himself  quotes  only 
one  older  historian,  Hecataeus  of  Miletus,  but  several  others 
had  written  before  him,  such  as  CEgeon  of  Samos,  Bion, 
Deiochus  of  Proconnesus,  Endemus  of  Paros,  Charon  of  Lamp- 
sacus,  and  Pherecydes  of  Leros.  We  do  not,  however,  know 
that  Herodotus  really  had  access  to  copies  of  their  manuscripts, 
which  would  have  been  written  on  papyri,  and  must  have 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE.  455 

been  few  and  costly.  He  was  a  great  traveller  and  a  diligent 
inquirer,  and  obtained  a  considerable  part  of  his  information 
from  what  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes,  and  heard  from  persons 
acquainted  with  the  facts.  He  tells  us  that  he  sifted  and 
compared  conflicting  statements,  and  he  often  rejected  stories 
which  he  did  not  think  he  had  warrant  for  believing.  But  it 
is  curious  that  in  some  cases  his  scepticism  is  now  known  to 
have  been  wrong.  Thus  he  disbelieves  the  story  of  the  circum- 
navigation of  Africa  by  the  Phoenicians  in  the  seventh  century 
before  our  era,  on  account  of  the  marvel  related  by  the  voyagers, 
that  as  they  sailed  '  they  had  the  sun  on  their  right,'  which  is 
the  strongest  possible  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the  account. 
He  cautiously  doubts  the  existence  of  an  amber-yielding 
district  on  the  Northern  Sea,  and  of  any  islands  called 
Cassiterides,  from  which  tin  was  said  to  be  brought.  But  we 
know  that  amber  is  found  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  and 
that  the  Cassiterides  were  our  own  Scilly  Islands.  Some  of 
his  statements,  which  were  formerly  regarded  as  impossible 
or  incredible  marvels,  have,  by  the  progress  of  later  discovery, 
been  proved  to  be  true.  Such  are  his  accounts  of  a  race  of 
men  dwelling  upon  scaffoldings  in  Lake  Prasias  and  living 
upon  fish  (v.  16),  in  fact,  Lacustrians  ;  of  a  breed  of  sheep  in 
Arabia  with  such  long  tails  that  they  were  supported  on 
trucks  to  preserve  them  from  injury  (iii.  13),  as  is  the  case 
in  North  Africa,  and,  I  believe,  in  some  parts  of  Spain  at  the 
present  day.  And  to  show  that  he  is  by  no  means  the 
gobcnioucJic  that  he  is  sometimes  represented,  I  may  instance 
what  he  says  of  the  Arimaspians,  a  one-eyed  race,  who  stole 
gold  from  the  griffins,  whom  Milton  thus  mentions : — 

As  when  a  gryfon  in  the  wilderness, 
With  winged  course  o'er  hill  or  moory  dale, 
Pursues  the  Arimaspian,  who  by  stealth, 
And  from  his  wakeful  custody  purloined 
The  guarded  gold. 

Herodotus  says  that  he  cannot  persuade  himself  to  believe  the 
story,  giving  the  sensible  reason  that  there  cannot  be  a  race  of 
men  with  one  eye,  who  in  all  things  else  resemble  the  rest  of 
mankind. 

The  value  of  Thucydides  as  a  historian  depends  first  on 
our  faith  in  his  honesty  ;  and,  secondly,  on  the  fact  that  he  had 


4S6  ^^'^'.^KS'   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

access  to  contemporary  testimony  both  oral  and  monumental. 
He  was  born  about  twenty-five  years  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
Peloponnesian  war,  and  he  took  part  in  some  of  its  events  ; 
but  he  chiefly  relied  for  information  on  the  statements  of 
others  who  had  themselves  been  actors  in  the  scenes  that 
they  described.  He  sometimes  quotes  inscriptions  on  monu- 
ments (i.  132-134)  and  letters  and  despatches  (iv.  50;  vii.  8  ; 
viii.  50),  of  which  he  had  no  doubt  seen  the  originals  or  copies. 
He  clearly  was  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  great  intelli- 
gence. Upon  the  whole  we  have  as  good  reason  for  believing 
the  history  of  Thucydides  as  we  have  for  believing  any  other 
profane  author  ;  but,  as  I  have  before  observed,  we  are  not  to 
suppose  that  the  long  speeches  which  he  puts  into  the  mouths 
of  Pericles  and  others  were  spoken  as  he  reports  them.  They 
are  rather  forms  of  stating  the  arguments  on  both  sides,  such 
as  Thucydides  understood  them. 

Until  a  comparatively  recent  period  the  history  of  Rome, 
as  told  by  Livy,  was  implicitly  believed  ;  and  as  much  credit 
was  given  to  his  account  of  the  regal  government  of  Rome  as 
to  the  annals  of  the  empire  by  Tacitus,  a  contemporary  writer. 
Machiavel,  in  his  '  Discourses  on  the  First  Decade  of  Livy,' 
accepts  the  story  of  the  Kings  as  not  less  real  than  the  story 
of  the  lives  of  the  twelve  Caesars. 

The  first  scholar  who  seems  to  have  questioned  the  truth 
of  the  old  narrative  about  Rome  was  Cluverius  (a  Latinised 
name  for  Philip  Cluver,  who  was  born  in  Dantzic  in  1 580).  He 
published,  in  1624,  a  book  called  '  Italia  Antiqua,'  in  which  he 
expressed  his  opinion  that  Roman  history  before  the  capture 
of  the  city  by  the  Gauls  was  all  uncertain ;  and  he  rejected  the 
account  of  Trojan  settlement  in  Latium,  the  Alban  dynasty, 
and  the  story  of  the  foundation  of  Rome  by  Romulus.  Others 
followed  in  the  same  track  ;  I  may  mention  Bochart,  and 
Perizonius,  and  Pouilly,  until  at  last  the  subject  received  an 
exhaustive  examination  in  the  remarkable  work  of  Beaufort, 
a  French  Protestant  refugee,  who  published  at  Utrecht,  in 
1738,  his  '  Dissertation  sur  ITncertitude  des  Cinq  Premiers 
Si^cles  de  I'Histoire  Romaine.' 

Beaufort  is  entitled  to  the  honour  of  ranking  as  the  pioneer 
of  a  new  school  of  criticism  ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  publica- 
tion of  Niebuhr's  '  History  of  Rome,'  in   1811-12,   that   the 


HISTORICAL   EVIDENCE.  457 

subject  attracted  the  attention  it  deserved.  This  work  may 
be  said  to  have  revolutionised  the  world  of  thought  in  relation 
to  Roman  history.  Its  destructive  power  is  irresistible,  but  its 
constructive  power  is  very  difterent.  I  will  not  say  that 
Niebuhr  endeavoured  to  evolve  a  history  of  Rome  out  of  his 
own  consciousness — like  the  famous  story  of  the  camel  evolved 
by  one  of  his  countrymen— but  he  certainly  trusted  a  great 
deal  too  much  to  sagacity  of  conjecture,  which  he  dignified  by 
the  title  of  '  discovery.'  He  even  goes  so  far  as  to  liken  his 
faculty  in  that  respect  to  the  power  of  divination — the  \iaviiia 
of  the  Greeks  (vol.  iii.  p.  318).  But  it  is  one  thing  for  a  Cuvier 
or  an  Owen  to  build  up  the  form  of  an  animal  from  a  single 
bone,  and  another  for  a  historian  to  presume  to  construct  a 
narrative  of  the  distant  past  from  a  few  isolated  hints,  or  even 
isolated  facts.  In  the  animal  form  there  is  a  correlation  of 
parts,  and  a  law  of  typical  conformity,  which  enables  the 
anatomist  to  ascend  with  almost  unerring  certainty  from  bone 
to  limb,  and  from  limb  to  body,  and  to  clothe  the  body  with  its 
proper  integuments,  until  we  can  see  by  the  eye  of  imagination 
the  very  form  that  has  ceased  to  exist  upon  the  earth  for 
perhaps  millions  of  years.  But  such  an  induction  is  not 
possible  in  the  case  of  human  aftairs  and  human  actions  ; 
varium  ct  mutabile  semper  would  be  their  appropriate  motto, 
and  the  events  that  actually  happen  often  verify  the  saying 
that  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction. 

There  is  an  old  Scotch  proverb,  'Give  a  romancer  a  hair 
and  he  will  make  a  tether  of  it,'  and  this  applies  to  a  certain 
school  of  writers  of  history.  Out  of  a  scrap  of  prose,  or  a  line 
of  verse,  or  a  broken  fragment  of  an  inscription,  they  will,  by 
the  aid  of  an  active  imagination,  construct  whole  pages  of  nar- 
rative. The  character  of  a  people  and  the  state  of  its  society 
will  be  inferred  from  a  few  lines  which  ma}%  when  they  were 
written,  have  been  quite  untrue,  or  mere  satire,  or  a  gross 
exaggeration.  The  historian  in  modern  times  who  has  been 
most  conspicuous  for  the  use  of  such  materials  is  Lord  Macaulay. 
The  result  is,  that  not  consciously  but  inevitably  truth  is  sacri- 
ficed to  effect.  I  will  mention  two  instances  of  this — his 
account  of  the  Highlands,  and  his  account  of  the  state  of  the 
English  clergy  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  detract  from  the  merit  of  a  work  of  such 


4S8  /ASSAYS   CRITICAL   AND  NARRATIVE. 

brilliancy  as  Lord  Macaulay's  '  History,'  but  it  Is  impossible 
not  to  see  that  he  has  been  misled  into  many  great  mistakes. 
I  speak  not  now  of  his  almost  bitter  hatred  of  the  Duke  of 
Marlborough,  which  induces  him  to  paint  his  character  in  the 
blackest  colours ;  and  his  almost  idolatrous  admiration  of 
William  III.,  which  induces  him  to  palliate  all  his  faults,  even 
that  of  faithlessness  to  his  wife ;  but  I  allude  to  specific  facts, 
in  which  the  historian  has  been  shown  to  be  utterly  wrong ;  and 
I  would  recommend  those  who  doubt  it  to  read  the  '  New 
Examen,'  by  Mr.  Paget  (London,  1861),  in  which  the  author 
has,  with  admirable  acumen,  instituted  '  an  inquiry  into  the 
evidence  relating  to  certain  passages  in  Lord  Macaulay's 
'  History.'  He  has  shown,  I  think  satisfactorily,  that  Lord 
Macaulay  has  been  inaccurate  and  unjust  in  his  account  of  the 
execution  by  Claverhouse,  of  Brown,  the  so-called  Christian 
carrier  ;  that  he  has  confounded  William  Penn,  the  founder  of 
Pennsylvania,  with  a  George  Penn,  in  describing  a  disreputable 
transaction  relative  to  the  maids  of  Taunton  ;  and  that  he  is 
mistaken  In  several  other  matters  of  fact. 

Lhave  often  thought  how  strangely  History  would  have  to 
be  rewritten,  If  we  could  summon  from  the  world  of  spirits 
those  who  were  the  chief  actors  in  many  of  the  events  which  It 
records,  and  obtain  from  them  a  true  version  of  such  events. 
How  many  motives  would  then  be  disclosed  of  which  we  now 
know  nothing  !  How  many  inferences  would  be  shewn  to  be 
erroneous  !  How  many  facts  would  be  altered  in  their  com- 
plexion !  And  yet,  in  fairness,  I  ought  to  mention  how  seldom 
it  has  happened  that  popular  verdicts,  with  respect  to  the 
character  and  events  of  history,  have  been  proved  to  be  wrong 
by  subsequent  researches.  I  may  instance  the  attempts  that 
have  been  made  of  late  years  to  whitewash  the  characters  of 
Tiberius,  Henry  VHL,  and  Robespierre,  all  of  which  seem  to 
have  signally  failed. 

Amongst  other  questions  we  should  like  to  be  able  to  put 
to  satisfy  our  curiosity,  I  may  select  almost  at  random  the 
following :  — 

Who  were  the  Pelasgians,  and  whence  came  the  Etrurians  .'' 
Was  there  a  real  war  of  Troy,  and  what  were  the  facts  .-' 
Did  Demosthenes  receive  any  part  of  the  money  given  up 
by  Harpalus  when  he  was  arrested  at  Athens } 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE.  459 

Who  was  the  real  founder  of  Rome  ? 

What  was  the  origin  of  the  story  that  the  Laws  of  the 
Twelve  Tables  were  the  result  of  a  mission  sent  from  Rome 
into  Greece  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ  ? 

What  authority  had  Suetonius  for  nine-tenths  of  the 
gossiping  anecdotes  contained  in  his  '  Lives  '  of  the  Twelve 
C2esars  ?  ' 

Was  St.  Peter  ever  Bishop  of  Rome  ?  Beyond  mere 
tradition  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  Apostle  ever  even 
visited  that  city,  much  less  that  he  was  Bishop  of  it.  Let 
those  who  assert  the  contrary  refute,  if  they  can,  the  facts 
and  arguments  of  Barrow,  in  his  '  Treatise  on  the  Pope's 
Supremacy.'  And  yet,  how  much  of  the  teaching  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  depends  upon  the  assumption  that 
St.  Peter  was  the  first  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  that  the  Popes  are 
his  legitimate  successors ! 

Was  Petrarch's  Laura  a  living  creature  of  flesh  and  blood, 
or  a  mere  poetical  myth  .'' 

What  was  the  real  character  of  Richard  IIL,  and  is  it  true 
that  he  was  accessory  to  the  murder  of  the  Princes  in  the 
Tower,  if  murdered  they  were  ? 

Horace  Walpole  concludes  his  ingenious  essay  called 
'  Historic  Doubts  in  the  Life  and  Reign  of  King  Richard  HL,' 
in  the  following  words : — '  We  must  leave  this  whole  story 
dark,  though  not  near  so  dark  as  we  found  it  ;  and  it  is, 
perhaps,  as  wise  to  be  uncertain  in  one  portion  of  our  history 
as  to  believe  so  much  as  is  believed  in  all  histories,  though 
very  probably  as  falsely  delivered  to  us  as  the  period  which 
vve  have  here  been  examining.' 

What  were  the  real  facts  of  the  Gowrie  conspiracy  in 
Scotland } 

Did  ]\Iary  Queen  of  Scots  really  write  the  letters  to 
Bothwell  which  were  produced  from  a  silver  casket  before 
the  Commissioners  at  Westminster,  and  which,  if  genuine, 
establish  the  fact  of  her  being  accessory  to  the  murder  of 
Darnley  .'' 

Was  Anne  Boleyn  guilty  of  the  charges  brought  against 
her  by  Henry  VHI.  }  Mr.  Froude  has  laboured  to  prove  that 
she  was,  but  his  arguments  are  very  far  from  convincing. 

What  was  the  real  cause  why  James  L  spared  the  life  of 


46o  ASSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  Earl  of  Southampton,  after  his  conviction  of  the  murder  of 
Sir  Thomas  Overbury  ? 

Who  was  the  Man  in  the  Iron  Mask  ?  Who  wrote  the 
Letters  of  Junius  ? 

It  is  extraordinary  how  few  of  the  anecdotes  which  pass 
current  in  Hterature  will  bear  the  test  of  critical  inquiry,  and 
the  result  of  a  careful  investigation  of  the  evidence  is  apt  to 
dispose  the  mind  to  general  scepticism  on  such  subjects.  Let 
me  mention  a  few  instances  which  will  serve  to  enliven  what 
otherwise,  I  fear,  will  be  thought  rather  a  dull  discourse. 

The  first  I  shall  mention  is  not  an  anecdote,  but  a  so- 
called  historical  fact. 

We  find  it  stated  in  Lempriere's  '  Classical  Dictionary '  that 
the  army  which  Xerxes  led  into  Greece  consisted  of  upwards 
of  five  million  souls,  and  he  says  that  '  the  multitude  which 
the  fidelity  of  historians  has  not  exaggerated  was  stopped  at 
Thermopylae  by  300  Spartans  under  King  Leonidas.'  The 
thing  is  simply  impossible,  and  therefore  incredible,  unless 
we  adopt  the  maxim  of  TertuUian,  and  say,  Credo  quia  im- 
possibile  est. 

The  story  of  Canute  commanding  the  waves  to  advance 
no  farther  first  appears  in  Henry  of  Huntingdon,  who  wrote 
a  century  after  the  Danish  king.  The  legend  of  Fair  Rosa- 
mond is  treated  by  Hume  as  fabulous  ;  and  the  greatest 
suspicion  rests  on  the  account  of  St.  Pierre  and  his  com- 
panions delivering  up  the  keys  of  Calais  to  Edward  III.,  with 
halters  round  their  necks,  and  having  their  lives  spared  at  the 
intercession  of  the  queen.  The  popular  story  of  the  origin 
of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  as  owing  to  the  accident  that  hap- 
pened to  the  Countess  of  Salisbury  when  dancing  at  the 
court  of  Edward  III.,  is  first  mentioned  by  Polydore  Virgil, 
who  wrote  200  years  later.  In  his  '  Lives  of  the  Judges,'  Mr. 
Foss  has  shown  that  the  story  of  the  reappointment  of  Sir 
William  Gascoigne  as  Chief  Justice,  by  Henry  V.,  who,  when 
Prince  of  Wales,  had  been  committed  by  him  to  prison  for  an 
assault,  is  the  reverse  of  true,  for  it  seems  that  Henry  V. 
actually  deprived  him  of  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  a  few  days 
after  his  accession  to  the  throne.  The  interesting  story  that 
Cromwell,  Hampden,  and  Hazelrig  had  actually  embarked  for 
New  England  in  1638,  prepared  to  abandon  the  country  for 


HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE.  461 

ever,  when  they  were   stopped  by  an  Order   in   Council,  has 
been  proved  to  have  no  foundation  in  fact. 

The  celebrated  phrase  attributed  to  Francis  I.  after  the 
battle  of  Pavia,  Tout  est  perdu  fors  rhoiaieiir,  turns  out  to 
have  been  rhonneur  et  la  vie  qui  est  saulve,  which  deprives  it 
of  all  its  point.  As  to  the  story  of  the  chivalrous  interchange 
of  courtesies  between  the  English  and  I'rench  guards  at  the 
battle  of  Fontenoy,  '  Monsieur,  bid  your  men  fire.'  '  No,  sir  ; 
we  never  fire  first,' — Carlyle  says,  in  his  '  Life  of  Frederick 
the  Great'  (vol.  iv.  p.  119),  'It  is  almost  a  pity  to  disturb  an 
elegant  historical  passage  of  this  kind  circulating  round  the 
world  in  some  glory  for  a  century  past ;  but  there  has  a  small 
irrefragable  document  come  to  me  which  modifies  it  a  good 
deal,  and  reduces  matters  to  the  business  form.'  This  docu- 
ment is  a  letter  from  Lord  Charles  Hay,  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Guards,  written  or  dictated  about  three  weeks  after  the 
battle,  and  giving  an  account  of  what  happened.  In  this  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  occurrence,  and  we  may  confidently 
believe  with  Carlyle,  that  'the  French  mess-rooms  (with  their 
eloquent  talent  that  way)  had  rounded  off  the  thing  into  the 
current  epigrammatic  redaction.' 

We  all  know  how  French  historians,  including  M.  Thiers, 
repeat  the  story  of  '  Le  Vengeur'  refusing  to  strike  her  flag  in 
the"  action  of  June  i,  1794,  and  going  down  into  the  depths 
of  the  ocean  while  her  crew  shouted  Vive  la  Republique ! 
This  has  been  shown  by  Admiral  Griffiths,  who  was  living  in 
1838,  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  the  engagement,  and  ^ho 
wrote  a  letter  on  the  subject,  to  be  as  he  calls  it  '  a  ridiculous 
piece  of  nonsense.'  When  the  'Vengeur'  sank  the  action  had 
ceased  for  some  time.  She  had  been  taken  possession  of  by 
the  boats  of  the  'Culloden;'  and,  as  to  the  crew,  Admiral 
Griffiths  says,  *  never  were  men  in  distress  more  ready  to  save 
themselves.'  There  was  '  not  one  shout  beyond  that  of  horror 
and  despair.'  And  yet  the  lie  will  live  in  the  annals  of  French 
heroism,  and  will  perhaps  be  believed  to  the  end  of  time. — 
See  '  Carlyle's  Essays,'  vol  v.  p.  356-359.  And  the  same,  I 
believe,  may  be  said  of  the  story  of  Casablanca  and  his  son  at 
the  battle  of  the  Nile. 

Before  I  conclude  I  will,  with  reference  to  the  special 
objects  of  this  Institute,  state  in  as  terse  a  form  as  possible 


462  ESSAYS   CRITICAL  AND  NARRATIVE. 

the  reasons  why  we  are  justified  in  beheving  on  historical 
grounds  the  truth  of  the  narratives  in  the  New  Testament, 
excluding  all  consideration  of  its  doctrines  : — 

(i.)  The  contemporary  nature  of  the  testimony. 

(2.)  The  artlessness  and  apparent  truthfulness  of  the 
writers. 

(3.)  The  substantial  agreement,  together  with  the  circum- 
stantial variety  of  statements,  of  four  different  contemporary 
eye-witnesses. 

(4.)  The  undesigned  coincidences  which  exist  between 
the  Gospels  and  Acts  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Epistles  on 
the  other. 

(5.)  The  absence  of  any  conceivable  motive  for  fraud  or 
falsehood. 

(6.)  The  difficulty,  if  not  the  absurdity,  of  supposing  that 
the  teachers  of  the  purest  morality  should  be  engaged  in  the 
immoral  work  of  propagating  an  imposture  and  forging  docu- 
ments. 

(7.)  The  utter  absence  of  any  contradiction  to  their  state- 
ments during  the  first  four  centuries. 

(8.)  The  frequent  reference  to  the  words  of  the  four  Evan- 
gelists by  writers  who  lived  in  the  first  two  centuries,  showing 
that  their  narratives  were  then  current  and  well  known. 

(9.)  The  adequacy  of  the  cause  for  miraculous  interpo- 
sition, if  we  believe  in  a  benevolent  Creator  and  in  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul. 

(10.)  The  sufficiency  of  the  accounts  to  explain  the  phaeno- 
menon  of  Christianity  as  a  religion  which  now  exists  in  the 
world,  whereas  no  other  theory  has  explained  or  can  explain  it. 

If  these  are  not  sufficient  grounds  for  believing  the  truth 
of  the  accounts  that  have  come  down  to  us,  I  know  not  any 
historical  fact  which  we  are  justified  in  believing. 


LONDON  :    PRINTED   BY 

SPOTTISWOODE      AND      CO.,      NEW-STREET      SQUARE 

AND   PARLIAMENT   STREET 


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LOS  ANGELES 


